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diff --git a/old/69332-0.txt b/old/69332-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index adc2d73..0000000 --- a/old/69332-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10789 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Les beaux messieurs de Bois-Doré -Vol. 02 (of 2), by George Sand - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Les beaux messieurs de Bois-Doré Vol. 02 (of 2) - The masterpieces of George Sand Vol. 10 - -Author: George Sand - -Translator: G. Burnham Ives - -Illustrator: H. Atalaya - -Release Date: November 12, 2022 [eBook #69332] -[Most recently updated: December 18, 2022] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Laura Natal Rodrigues (Images generously made available by - Hathi Trust Digital Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LES BEAUX MESSIEURS DE -BOIS-DORÉ VOL. 02 (OF 2) *** - - - THE MASTERPIECES OF - - GEORGE SAND - - - - - AMANDINE LUCILLE AURORE DUPIN, - BARONESS DUDEVANT - - - - - VOLUME X - - - - - LES BEAUX - MESSIEURS DE BOIS-DORÉ - - - - -[Illustration: _BOIS-DORÉ CONFERS WITH THE -RECTOR._ - -_The rector, who was unable as yet to leave his easy-chair, -he had suffered so intensely with cold, discomfort -and fright, attempted to tell him that a fall from his -horse had caused his injuries and had detained him -twenty-four hours at the house of one of his confrères._] - - - - - The Masterpieces of George Sand - Amandine Lucille Aurore Dupin, Baroness - Dudevant, _NOW FOR THE FIRST - TIME COMPLETELY TRANSLATED - INTO ENGLISH LES - BEAUX MESSIEURS DE BOIS-DORÉ - BY G. BURNHAM IVES_ - - - - - _WITH TWELVE PHOTOGRAVURES AFTER PAINTINGS BY - H. ATALAYA._ - - - - - _VOLUME II_ - - - - - _PRINTED ONLY FOR SUBSCRIBERS BY - GEORGE BARRIE & SON - PHILADELPHIA_ - - - - -CONTENTS -CHAPTER XL -CHAPTER XLI -CHAPTER XLII -CHAPTER XLIII -CHAPTER XLIV -CHAPTER XLV -CHAPTER XLVI -CHAPTER XLVII -CHAPTER XLVIII -CHAPTER XLIX -CHAPTER L -CHAPTER LI -CHAPTER LII -CHAPTER LIII -CHAPTER LIV -CHAPTER LV -CHAPTER LVI -CHAPTER LVII -CHAPTER LVIII -CHAPTER LIX -CHAPTER LX -CHAPTER LXI -CHAPTER LXII -CHAPTER LXIII -CHAPTER LXIV -CHAPTER LXV -CHAPTER LXVI -CHAPTER LXVII -CHAPTER LXVIII -CHAPTER LXIX -CHAPTER LXX -CHAPTER LXXI -CHAPTER LXXII -CHAPTER LXXIII -CHAPTER LXXIV - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - -LES BEAUX MESSIEURS DE BOIS-DORÉ - -VOLUME II - -BOIS-DORÉ CONFERS WITH THE RECTOR - -THE MARQUIS AT LA CAILLE-BOTTÉE'S - -MACABRE AND HIS BAND AT THE INN - -MERCEDES WOUNDED BEFORE THE CHÂTEAU - -GUILLAUME D'ARS PROPOSES MARRIAGE - -MARIO FINDS PILAR'S TALISMAN - - - - -LES BEAUX MESSIEURS DE BOIS-DORÉ - -(_Continued_) - - - - -XL - - -Since the Moorish woman had taught Adamas divers Eastern secrets for the -composition of cosmetic mixtures, the marquis's complexion, his beard -and his eyebrows had really improved. They were proof against wind, rain -and Mario's frantic caresses; moreover, their perfume was sweeter, and -they were more promptly prepared. - -At first the old Celadon submitted to the beautifying process in -profound secrecy, at the time when the child left his room for his first -play. But, as Mario asked no embarrassing or impertinent questions, the -old man gradually relaxed his great precautions, and proceeded to his -daily rejuvenation with most ingenuous explanations. - -The cosmetics were christened cooling perfumes, and the brilliant -coloring was called keeping the skin in condition. - -Mario seemed not to know what malice was. But children see everything; -and he was not duped by Adamas, only he saw no cause for ridicule. His -dear father could do nothing ridiculous. He fancied that these artifices -were a part of the toilet of all persons of quality. - -So it happened that, as he was more or less coquettish himself, he -conceived a strong inclination to have his own face made up _like a -gentleman's_. He made that request; and, as he was simply told in reply -that at his age such devices were not necessary, he did not look upon it -as a positive refusal. So that, one evening, happening to be alone for a -moment in his adoptive father's room, and seeing the phials scattered -over the table, it occurred to him to _perfume_ himself in white and -pink as he had seen Adamas perfume the marquis. That done, he thought -that he ought to enlarge and darken his eyebrows, and, finding that that -gave him a martial mien which delighted him hugely, he could not resist -the temptation to draw two pretty little black hooks above his lips and -a lovely royale underneath. - -As he had no light except a single candle which had been accidentally -left on the table, he used the colors too freely, and could not draw the -outlines very sharply. - -The supper-bell rang; he hurried to the table, well pleased with his -bad-boy aspect, and maintaining his seriousness admirably. - -The marquis paid no heed at first; but, Lauriane having uttered a hearty -peal of laughter, he raised his eyes and saw that sweet little face so -strangely transformed that he could not refrain from laughing with her. - -But in the depths of his heart the good marquis was vexed and grieved. -Mario certainly had had no idea of making sport of him; but the broad, -loud way in which he had daubed himself betrayed a little too frankly, -before Lauriane, the existence and use of that palette of beauty which -he believed that he had kept so carefully concealed in the drawers of -his dressing-table and on his face. He did not even dare ask the child -where he had obtained the materials for that coloring; he dreaded a too -ingenuous reply. So he contented himself with saying to him that he had -disfigured himself, and that he must go and wash his face. - -Lauriane realized her old friend's embarrassment and uneasiness, and -restrained her merriment; but Mario's whim seemed to her all the more -amusing, and throughout the supper she suffered from that mad, girlish -longing to laugh which constraint transforms to nervous excitement. - -The effect on Mario was magical, until at last the marquis mildly said -to them: - -"Come, children, laugh your fill, since you have such a longing to -laugh!" - -But he did not laugh himself, and at night he reproved Mario, who was -penitent, and promised never to do it again. - -This antic afforded much amusement to Monsieur Clindor, who broke a -beautiful piece of porcelain in his uproarious mirth. Being rebuked by -the marquis, he lost his head and trod on Fleurial's paw. Adamas could -not resist Mario's droll aspect, and he, too, laughed! Bellinde was the -only one who kept a serious countenance, and the marquis was grateful to -her for it. - -"That child is very mischievous," he said that night to Adamas, "and -everything that he does indicates a playful and most entertaining wit. -But we must not spoil him too much, Adamas!" - -The next day there was more trouble: one of the phials of carmine on the -dressing-table was found to be broken, and the beautiful lace -table-cover was stained. It was laid at Fleurial's door at first, but -similar spots were discovered on Mario's white jacket. He was surprised, -and stoutly denied having approached the dressing-table. - -"I believe you, my son," said the marquis, with a sigh. "If I deemed you -capable of lying, I should be too deeply grieved." - -But on the next day the cosmetics were found to be mixed; the red with -the black and the black with the white. - -"Zounds!" ejaculated the marquis, "this devil's work continues! Will it -be the same way with it as with the noses of my poor statues?" - -He scrutinized Mario without speaking; there were black stains on the -ruffles at his wrists. It might have been ink; but the marquis had a -horror of spots, and begged him to go and change his linen. - -"Adamas," he said to his confidant, "the child is mischievous, that is -all right; but if he is a liar and abuses my confidence in his word, it -will break my heart, my friend! I believed that he was made of a -superior substance, but God does not choose that I shall be too proud of -him. He allows the devil to make of him a child like other children." - -Adamas took sides with Mario, who had just entered the boudoir adjoining -the bedroom. - -At that moment they heard Bellinde engaged in a warm dispute with the -child. He was pulling her by the skirt, and she resisted by saying that -he took liberties above his age. - -The marquis rose indignantly. - -"Libertine!" he cried in despair; "already a libertine?" - -Poor Mario ran forward, weeping bitterly. - -"Father," he cried, throwing himself into his arms, "she is a wicked -girl. I was trying to bring her to you to show you what she has on her -hands. She touched my ruff, saying that it was stained, and it is she -who puts the stains on it; she wants to make you feel grieved and -prevent you from loving me. She takes advantage of the foolish things I -do to put other wicked things on my back. Father, she isn't a good -woman; she makes you think I am a liar, and, if you believe her----" - -"No, no, my son, I do not believe her!" cried the marquis.--"Adamas!" - -But Adamas was no longer there; he had run after Bellinde; he seized her -on the staircase, tried to drag her back by force, and received for his -pains a hearty cuff which made him relax his grasp. - -At the sound of this scuffle, the marquis darted out into the hall. -Adamas had received a violent blow; he was dazed and was pressing his -cheek. - -"That hussy must have used her claws!" he exclaimed, "my face is -all--Why, no, monsieur," he cried suddenly, overjoyed, "it isn't blood! -Look! it's the beautiful rouge from your phials! It's conclusive -evidence! Ah! upon my word! this business is clear enough at last. Now I -hope that you will have no further doubt of that red-headed girl's -malice!" - -"Monsieur le comte," said the marquis to Mario with admirable gravity, -"I confess that I have doubted your word on two occasions. If I were not -your best friend, you would be entitled to demand satisfaction; but I -hope that you will deign to accept your father's apologies." - -Mario leaped on his neck, and that same evening Bellinde, being paid and -discharged without a word of explanation, left the oasis of Briantes and -her fine shepherdess's name, to return to the realities of life under -her true name of Guillette Carcat, pending the time when she should -assume a more sonorous and mythological one, as we shall see in the -sequel. - -While these tragical events gradually faded from the memory of our -characters, Monsieur Poulain did not fall asleep in his zeal. - -It was on the 18th or 19th of December, when the abbé, cold as to the -nose and feet, but with his brain warmed by the hope of a triumph at -which he had long been aiming, arrived at Saint-Amand, a pretty town of -Berry, situated in a verdant valley, between two streams, and overlooked -by the gigantic and wonderful castle of Montrond, the residence of the -Prince de Condé. - -The abbé dismounted at the Capuchin convent, whose vast enclosure, -shaped like a cross, lay under the protection of the princely abode. He -avoided seeing the prior, whose attentions and good offices he dreaded; -he preferred to do his work himself and to travel alone. He simply -accepted a frugal repast from one of the monks, his kinsman, shook off -the snow with which he was covered, and presented himself at one of the -wickets of the castle, where he exhibited a passport in proper form. - -"Thanks to the works undertaken by Sully, and especially to the -improvements made by Monsieur le Prince," who had purchased that domain -from the fallen minister, "the castle of Montrond, which assumed more -importance at a later date, in the wars of the Fronde, had become a most -luxurious abode as well as an impregnable fortress. It was more than a -league in circumference; it comprised numerous buildings, an enormous -and magnificent château of three floors, a huge tower or donjon a -hundred and twenty feet high, the walls of which were crenellated, and -which was surmounted by a platform whereon was a statue of Mercury."[1] - -"As for the fortifications, they were so abundant, arranged in the shape -of an amphitheatre and in tiers, that even one who had scrutinized and -studied them for a long time could hardly understand them."[2] - -In that labyrinth of stone, that powerful vassal's lair, that -significant mystery, dwelt Henri de Bourbon, second of the name, Prince -de Condé, who, after three years of captivity for rebellion against the -crown, had become reconciled with the court and resumed his post as -governor of Berry. - -In addition to that office he held those of lieutenant-general, bailiff -of the province, and captain of the great tower of Bourges: that is to -say he monopolized the political, civil and military power of the whole -centre of France, since he enjoyed the same privileges and held the same -offices in the province of the Bourbonnais. - -Add to this power an enormous fortune, increased by the sums which, -_under the form of an indemnity_, each rebellion of the Condés cost the -crown, that is to say France; by the almost forced purchase of the -magnificent estates and châteaux which Sully possessed in Berry, and -which he had no choice but to surrender to Monsieur le Prince at a great -sacrifice, by reason of the pitilessness of the time and the -_misfortunes_ of the province; by the _secularisation_, that is to say -the suppression, to the prince's profit, of the richest abbeys of the -province, that of Déols among others; by the gifts which the rich -bourgeoisie of the cities were compelled by custom, flattery or -cowardice to make; by the heavy bowls of gold and silver filled with -Berry sheep in the form of gold and silver coins; by the _azure -chariots_, carved and decorated with silver satyrs, drawn by six -beautiful horses with harnesses of Russia leather trimmed with silver; -by taxes, exactions and vexations of every sort imposed upon the common -people: money under all names, under all forms, under all pretexts--that -was the sole motive, the sole aim, the sole grandeur, the sole joy, and -the sole talent of Henri, grandson of the great Condé of the -Reformation, and father of the great Condé of the Fronde. - -Two great Condés, who were most ambitious and most blameworthy for -their conduct toward France, God knows! but capable, too, of rendering -noble service against the foreigner, when their selfish interests did -not lead them astray. Alas! therein we see the _frightful_ 17th century! -But they were endowed with courage, grandeur, aye, with heroism; while -he who plays a part in our narrative was simply covetous, cunning, -prudent, and, people said, something much worse. - -His birth was tragic, his youth unhappy. - -He first saw the light in prison, born of a widow who was accused of -having poisoned her husband.[3] Married himself when very young to the -lovely Charlotte de Montmorency, the constable's daughter, he had had -for a rival that too lusty and too venerable gallant, Henri IV. The -young princess was a flirt. The prince kidnapped his wife. The king was -accused of seeking to make war on Belgium for giving her shelter. The -charge was at once true and false; the king was madly in love, but -Condé, pretending a jealousy of which he was incapable, exploited the -king's passion to the advantage of his ambition, and forced the king to -take harsh measures against a rebel. - -Unlucky in his family relations, in war and in politics, Monsieur le -Prince consoled himself for everything by love of wealth, and, when the -terrible ministry of Richelieu supervened, he was living very quietly, -rich and unhonored, in his good town of Bourges and in his fine château -of Saint-Amand-Montrond. - -But, at the time when our rector Poulain, after six weeks of manœuvring -and intriguing, succeeded in finding his way into his presence, Monsieur -le Prince had not renounced all political ambition, and he was still to -play his rôle of vulture during the death agony of the Calvinist party -and that of the royal power, hoping to rise on the ruins of both. - -The rector thought that he was perfectly well aware what sort of man he -had to deal with. He judged him by the reputation of a _good_ prince -which he had made for himself at Bourges; familiar, condescending, -talking to everybody without arrogance, playing with the school children -of the town and cheating them, very fond of gifts, gossipy, stingy, -whimsical and exceedingly pious. - -The prince had all those qualities; but he had them in much greater -degree than anyone as yet supposed. History declares that he was too -fond of the society of children. He cheated from avarice and not simply -for amusement; he did not follow the example of Henri IV., who returned -the money. He was passionately fond of gifts; was a gossip from envy and -evil-mindedness; he was avaricious to frenzy, whimsical to superstition, -pious to atheism. - -Lenet in his panegyric, says of him most ingenuously, or rather most -maliciously: - -"He understood religion and knew how to make the most of it, knew every -fold of the human heart as thoroughly as any man I ever knew, and could -decide in an instant by what motive a man's action was guided in affairs -of every sort. He had the art of taking precautions against the artifice -of other men, without letting them be apparent. _He loved to gain an -advantage_. He undertook few affairs which he did not succeed in -carrying through, by temporizing when he could not gain his object in -any other way. He knew how to avoid any danger of losing that which was -due to him, and to grasp any opportunities which might benefit him in -any way. In short," says Lenet blandly in conclusion, "he seems to me to -have been a great man and a very extraordinary one." - -So be it! - -As for the prince's physical characteristics, they are thus described, -in a private letter, by a more illustrious pen than Lenet's: - -"A face attractive at first sight; somewhat long, but with regular -features; nothing of the power or of the marked peculiarity of feature -of his son, the great Condé; smiling eyes; a face possessing no slight -charm, with its frame of long hair; moustaches turned up at the ends; a -long, heavy royale. Uncertainty in the shape of the forehead, which is -of medium height, largely developed in the upper portion; some -flabbiness in the cheeks. That smiling glance was one of those in which -one can detect, with some attention, the lack of dignity and of serious -faith, a petty, selfish disposition and much indifference. But that is -the second impression; the first is not disagreeable. The best of his -portraits bears the device: _Semper prudentia_."[4] - -The statue of Mercury, the god of sharpers, standing on the summit of -the donjon, is even more eloquent. - - -[Footnote 1: Raynal, _History of Berry_.] - -[Footnote 2: Memoirs of Monsieur Lenet.] - -[Footnote 3: Charlotte de la Trémouille, wife of the first Henri de -Condé, was imprisoned eight years, then acquitted, but never exonerated.] - -[Footnote 4: Henri Martin. Unpublished letter.] - - - - -XLI - - -Monsieur Poulain, while not a physiognomist in the highest sense, was a -shrewd observer none the less; but he was at first impressed only by the -agreeable side of the prince's countenance. - -Monsieur de Condé received him alone in his closet, and invited him to -sit. He displayed the greatest consideration for any man who wore a -cassock. - -"Monsieur l'abbé," he said, "I am ready to listen to you. Pardon me if -important duties have compelled me to keep you waiting a long while for -this appointment. You know that I have had to go to Paris to fetch -Monsieur le Duc d'Enghien; then I was obliged to find another nurse for -him, she whom his mother had selected having no more milk than a stone; -and then--But let us speak of yourself, who seem to me to be a man of -resolution. Resolution is a fine thing; but I am surprised to find you -so persistent in appealing to me concerning such a trivial affair. Your -clodhopper of--What do you call the place?" - -"Briantes," replied the rector, respectfully. - -The prince glanced furtively at him, and saw, beneath his humility, an -air of assurance which disturbed him. - -It is a peculiarity of great minds to seek to fathom and make use of the -forces with which they come in contact. The prince was too suspicious -not to be timid. His first impulse was not so much to make use of people -as to refrain from doing so. - -He affected indifference. - -"Very good," he said; "your clodhopper of Briantes has killed in single -combat, or rather in a singular combat and in a suspicious way, a -certain--What is the dead man's name?" - -"Sciarra d'Alvimar." - -"Ah! yes, I know! I have inquired about him; he was a man of no -consequence, and one who fought unfairly himself. The fellows must have -been evenly matched. What does it matter to you, after all?" - -"I love my duty," replied the rector, "and my duty bade me not to allow -a crime to go unpunished. Monsieur Sciarra was a good Catholic, Monsieur -de Bois-Doré is a Huguenot." - -"Has he not abjured?" - -"Where and when, monseigneur?" - -"I neither know nor care. He is an old man, he is unmarried. He will -soon die a natural death. When the beast dies, the poison dies! I do not -see that there is much occasion to worry about him." - -"Then your highness refuses to cause this affair to be investigated?" - -"Investigate it yourself, monsieur l'abbé. I do not prevent you. Apply -to the proper authorities. This comes within the province of the -magistracy; I do not give my attention to the offences of the common -herd: I should never be done with them." - -Monsieur Poulain rose, bowed low and walked to the door. He was -humiliated and deeply offended. - -"Oh! stay, monsieur l'abbé," said the prince, who was desirous to -fathom him without seeming to do so; "if I am not interested in your -Monsieur d'Alvimar, I am deeply interested in you, who write an -exceedingly well-turned letter, furnish valuable information, and seem -to me to be a man of courage and spirit. Come, speak frankly to me. -Perhaps I may be able to assist you in some way. Tell me why you desired -to see me, instead of applying to your natural superiors, the higher -clergy?" - -"Monseigneur," replied the rector, "such an affair was not within the -jurisdiction of the church." - -"What affair?" - -"The murder of Monsieur d'Alvimar; I have no other motive. Your highness -insults me by thinking that I have made use of that circumstance as a -pretext to gain access to you, in order that I may address some personal -petition to you; such is not the case. I am impelled solely by the -dissatisfaction which every sincere Catholic feels to see the -_pretenders_ begin anew their thieving and murdering in this province." - -"You said nothing of theft," rejoined the prince. "Had this D'Alvimar -any property which was taken from him." - -"I do not know, nor is that what I mean. I had the honor to write to -monsieur le prince that this Bois-Doré had enriched himself by -pillaging churches." - -"True, I remember," said the prince. "Did you not give me to understand -that he had some sort of hidden treasure in his house?" - -"I gave monseigneur most precise and accurate details. A part of the -treasure of the Abbey of Fontgombaud is still there." - -"And it is your opinion that we should make him disgorge? That would be -difficult, unless by employing officers of the law; and the tardiness of -legal procedure would enable the old fox to put the _corpus delicti_ out -of sight. Do not you think so?" - -"Perhaps Monsieur d'Aloigny de Rochefort, whom your highness has -appointed fiduciary abbé of Fontgombaud, might take measures----" - -"No," said the prince, with some vehemence, "I forbid you--I beg you to -let him know nothing of this. I have already incurred sufficient blame -for the favors with which I have rewarded Monsieur de Rochefort's -valuable services; people would never cease saying that I enrich my -creatures with the spoils of the vanquished. Moreover, Rochefort is -accused of being too greedy, and, in truth, perhaps he is so to some -extent. I would not take my oath that he would confiscate these things -for the benefit of the religion." - -"I have touched the tender spot," thought the rector; "the treasure -makes him prick up his ears. I must manage it so that monseigneur will -be my debtor." - -The prince noticed the slightly disdainful inward satisfaction of his -visitor. The rector was not thirsty for money and jewels. He was thirsty -for influence and power. Condé realized it and kept a closer watch upon -himself. - -"Moreover," he added, "it would be inadvisable to make a commotion over -a trifle. This treasure, hidden in an old chest in a country-house -garret, is not worth, I fancy, the trouble that would be necessary to -obtain possession of it." - -"But it is a living spring which supplies the old marquis's -magnificence." - -"He has been drawing upon it for a long time," rejoined the prince; "it -must be drained dry! I used to know your clodhopper slightly; he was a -burlesque marquis, of the King of Navarre's making. He was admitted to -_my dear uncle's_ intimate circle!" - -Condé never spoke of Henri IV. except in an ironical tone overflowing -with aversion. Monsieur Poulain observed the bitterness of his tone and -smiled in a way to gratify the prince. - -"The marquisate of Bois-Doré," he said, "is a jest which the old man -takes very seriously, and he persists in forcing upon everybody his -absurd passion for the late king." - -"The late king had some good qualities," rejoined Condé, who considered -that the rector went too far, "and this old creature of whom we are -talking was not one of his worst creatures. He squandered all his -property in absurd finery; he cannot have anything left. He never goes -to Paris now, he never appears at Bourges, he lives in a hole. He has an -old chariot of the time of the League and a castle wherein I should be -ashamed to quarter my dogs. He has laid out gardens where all the -statues are of plaster; all this smells of mediocrity." - -"These are details with which I did not supply monseigneur," said the -rector to himself. "He has been making inquiries, he has nibbled at the -bait.--It is true," he said aloud, "that our man is only a petty -provincial nobleman. He is known to have about twenty-five thousand -crowns of visible income, and people are justly surprised that he spends -sixty thousand without running into debt and without leaving his -estate." - -"Can it be that the Abbey of Fontgombaud still holds out?" said the -prince with a smile. "But how do you know, monsieur l'abbé, that this -horn of plenty exists at the manor of Briantes?" - -"I know it from a very devout young woman who has seen reliquaries and -chapel ornaments of great value there. A certain child's bed, all of -carved ivory, is a _chef-d'œuvre_, surmounted by a canopy----" - -"Bah! bah!" said the prince, "some old woman's tale! We will look into -this matter if you insist, for the honor and welfare of the church, -monsieur l'abbé; but it is not a matter of great urgency. I must leave -you; but I would like first to know if I cannot serve you in any way. -Your archbishop is a very good friend of nine; it was I who procured his -translation. Do you desire a better living? I can speak to him of you." - -"I desire none of the advantages of this world," the rector replied as -he took his leave. "I consider myself well placed wherever I can labor -for my salvation and pray for your highness's happiness." - -"That is to say," thought the prince as soon as he was alone, "the -Bois-Doré's coffers are still full; otherwise this ambitious fellow -would have asked me first for his reward. He knows that I shall be -satisfied with the result, and he will ask me for more than I have -offered him. We shall see." - -And the prince issued his orders. - -On the evening of that same day, the dwellers at Briantes had just -wished one another good-night, and were about to separate, when -Aristandre, who was gatekeeper, sent word that a nobleman and his -retinue desired shelter and an opportunity to rest for a couple of -hours. It was raining and was very dark. - -The marquis called for a light, and, wrapping himself in his cloak, went -out in person to order the portcullis raised. - -"We are----" began an unfamiliar voice. - -"Enter, enter, messieurs," replied the marquis, ever a slave to the laws -of chivalrous hospitality. "Come in out of the rain. You may tell your -names, if you please, when you have rested." - -The horsemen rode in; there was two or three of them, and one, who -seemed to be in authority over the others, acted as if he would -dismount. Bois-Doré prevented him, as the pavement was very wet. - -He walked ahead with Adamas, who carried the torch, and returned to the -courtyard, followed by his guest, without noticing an escort of twenty -armed men, who, having crossed the drawbridge one by one, entered the -courtyard after their master, while he was ascending the stairs with his -host. - -This large escort surprised Aristandre, who, as his functions included -that of receiving the servants of visitors and opening the stables, came -forward to offer his services. But they refused to unsaddle, and -remained with their horses, some around a fire which was lighted in the -courtyard, others at the very threshold of the château. - -When the marquis entered the salon with the stranger, he saw a man of -some thirty years of age, of medium stature and poorly dressed. His face -was almost entirely shaded by the flapping brim of his hat and the wet -plumes that fell about it on all sides. Little by little he made out the -face, but did not recognize it, or, at all events, could not remember -where he had seen it. - -"You do not seem to remember me?" said the stranger. "To be sure, it is -a very long time since we met, and we have both changed greatly." - -The marquis artlessly put his hand to his forehead, apologizing for his -failure of memory. - -"I will not amuse myself by making you cudgel your brains," rejoined the -traveller. "My name is Lenet. I was little more than a boy when I saw -you in Paris at the Marquise de Rambouillet's, and it may very well be -that you paid no attention to such an unimportant personage as I then -was. Even now I am only a councillor, awaiting something better." - -"You deserve to be all that you desire," replied Bois-Doré, -graciously.--"But, deuce take me," he said to himself, "if I remember -the name of Lenet, or if I know to whom I am talking, although his -manner recalls a thousand vague ideas." - -"Order nothing for me," rejoined Monsieur Lenet, when he saw that the -marquis was issuing orders for his supper. "I go on to another château, -where I am expected. I have been delayed by the wretched roads, and I -beg to excuse my calling upon you at this hour. But I am entrusted with -a delicate commission for you, which I must execute." - -Lauriane and Mario, who were in the boudoir, rose when they heard that -business was to be discussed, and passed through the salon to retire. - -"Are those your children, Monsieur de Bois-Doré!" said the traveller, -returning the courtesy which they made him as they passed. - -"Neither of them," replied the marquis, "and yet I am a father. This is -my nephew, who is my son by adoption." - -"Now, this is my errand," continued the councillor, with a benignant air -and in a conciliatory tone, when the children had left the room, "I am -instructed by Monsieur le Prince, who is your lord and my own, and to -whom my family, from father to son, is closely attached, to inquire into -an unpleasant affair in which you are involved. I will go straight to -the fact. You have caused the disappearance of a certain Monsieur -Sciarra d'Alvimar, who was your guest as I am, with the difference that -he had no escort with him as I have, to protect my person and my -commission; for I must inform you that, under yonder window, are twenty -men, well armed, and in your village twenty others, ready to come to -their assistance, if you do not receive in a becoming manner the -messenger of the governor and grand bailiff of the province." - -"This warning is unnecessary, Monsieur Lenet," replied Bois-Doré, with -much tranquillity and courtesy. "If you were alone in my house, you -would be the safer therein. It is enough that you are my guest, and by -so much the more are you protected by the commission of Monsieur le -Prince, to whose authority I am in nowise rebellious. Am I to accompany -you and account to him for my conduct? I am quite prepared, and entirely -undisturbed, as you see." - -"That is not necessary, Monsieur de Bois-Doré. I have full power to -question you and deal with you according as I find you innocent or -guilty. Be good enough to tell me what has become of Monsieur -d'Alvimar?" - -"I killed him in a fair duel," replied the marquis, confidently. - -"But without witnesses?" rejoined the councillor with an ironical smile. - -"There was one, monsieur, and the most honorable of men. If you wish to -hear the story----" - -"Will it be long?" queried the councillor, who seemed distraught. - -"No, monsieur; although it seems to me that I am entitled to explain my -conduct fully in a matter which concerns my life and my honor, I will -take as little of your time as possible." - - - - -XLII - - -Bois-Doré told the whole story succinctly, and exhibited his proofs. - -Still the councillor seemed impatient and distraught. But his attention -seemed to be caught by one point. That point was the incident of La -Flèche's predictions at La Motte-Seuilly. - -Bois-Doré, having to produce his brother's seal as the final proof of -his identity with D'Alvimar's victim, felt that he ought to mention that -circumstance; but, before he had time to explain definitely how little -real sorcery there was in Master La Flèche's prophecies, he was -interrupted by the councillor. - -"Stay," said he, "I recall one charge against you which I had forgotten. -You are suspected of being addicted to magic, Monsieur de Bois-Doré. -And upon that charge I acquit you in advance, for I have no faith in the -soothsayer's art, and see nothing in it but a mental pastime. Will you -tell me if it happened that these gypsies predicted anything true?" - -"Their predictions were fulfilled in every respect, Monsieur Lenet! They -declared that within three days I should be a _father_ and _avenged_. -They informed my brother's murderer that he would be punished within -three days, and these things came to pass as they said; but----" - -"Tell me where these gypsies are?" - -"I do not know. I have not seen them since. But it remains for me to -tell you----" - -"No. This is enough," said Monsieur Lenet, still maintaining his honeyed -tone and smiling expression; "the cause has been heard. I believe you to -be innocent; but you were ill-advised to conceal the fact. Suspicions -will not easily be effaced; people will wonder as I do, why, instead of -making public the chastisement of your brother's assassin as an act -which did you honor, you concealed it as you would have done an -ambuscade. I shall not be able to make Monsieur le Prince understand." - -At that point Bois-Doré was sorely tempted to interrupt the councillor -by an indignant exclamation; for it was evident to him that that man, -after claiming to have full powers in order to induce him to speak, -pretended to be unable to absolve him himself, in order to sell him his -influence. - -"I agree," he said, "that in concealing D'Alvimar's death I followed bad -advice, which was entirely opposed to my own inclination. It was urged -upon me that Monsieur le Prince was a devout Catholic and that I was -accused of heresy----" - -"And that is true enough, my dear monsieur. You are considered to be a -great heretic, and I do not deny that Monsieur le Prince is ill disposed -toward you." - -"But you, monsieur, who seem to me to be less rigid in your ideas, and -who declare that you have confidence in my words--may I not rely upon -you to plead my cause and to bear witness in my behalf?" - -"I will do my utmost, but I will not answer for the result, so far as -the prince is concerned." - -"What must I do, pray, to dispose him favorably toward me?" said the -marquis, resolved to learn the terms of the bargain. - -"I cannot say," replied the councillor. "He has been told that you have -in your household an Italian, a heretic of the worst sort, who, so it -seems, may well be a certain Lucilio Giovellino, condemned at Rome as a -believer in Giordano Bruno's detestable doctrines." - -The marquis turned pale: he had maintained his tranquillity in face of -danger to himself; his friend's danger terrified him. - -"Do you admit it?" said the councillor, carelessly. "For my own part, I -think that the poor devil was punished enough, and I wish him no other -harm than what has already been inflicted on him. You can tell me -everything. I will try to divert the prince's suspicions." - -"Monsieur Lenet," rejoined Bois-Doré, obeying a sudden inspiration, -"the man to whom you refer is not a heretic, he is an astrologer of the -most marvellous learning. He has recourse to no magic arts, but reads -human destinies in the stars with such extraordinary skill that the -events of life seem to abide by decrees written on the skies. There is -nothing in his operations inconsistent with the duty of an honorable man -and a good Christian; and you know as well as I that Monsieur le Prince, -who is the most orthodox Catholic in the kingdom, constantly consults -astrologers, as the most illustrious persons in all times, even crowned -heads, have done." - -"I do not know where you have learned what you say, monsieur," rejoined -the councillor, shrugging his shoulders; "I have long lived and still -live in the prince's confidence, and I have never known him to resort to -such practices." - -"And yet, monsieur," replied the marquis with assurance, "I am certain -that he would in nowise censure my friend's practices, and I beg you to -say to him, that if he will deign to test his skill, he will be highly -gratified." - -"The prince will laugh at your confidence; but I do not refuse to -mention the subject to him. Let us return to the most urgent question, -which is to extricate you from this difficulty. I do not conceal from -you that I have orders to make a search of your house." - -"A search?" echoed the marquis in amazement; "a search for what purpose, -monsieur?" - -"For the sole purpose of making sure that you have no cabalistic books -and instruments; for you are accused of practising magic, not so much -for the amusement of reckoning numbers and watching the stars, as for -suspicious objects and by virtue of a sort of worship of the spirit of -evil." - -"Really, monsieur le conseiller, you have kept this for a _bonne -bouche_! Is this all of which I am accused? shall I not be required to -defend myself against anything worse?" - -"Do not blame me," said the councillor rising. "I do not believe that -you are guilty of such heinous deeds; that is why I urge you to show me -every corner of your house, so that I may be able to state and to take -my oath that I found nothing here which was not honest and becoming. -Remember that I can force you to obey me; but, as I desire to treat you -courteously, I beg you to take a torch and light me yourself, without -calling any of your people; for, if you do, I shall be compelled to call -all of mine, and it is my present purpose to take only five or six, who -are at the door of this room." - -A ray of light flashed through the marquis's mind; it was his treasure -that was wanted. - -He made up his mind at once. Although he loved all those sumptuous toys -which he regarded as legitimate trophies and pleasant memories of his -exploits of long ago, there was no avarice in his fondness for them, -and, however much he might regret being unable to resort to them any -longer to the profit of his beloved Mario's magnificence, he did not -hesitate between that sacrifice and the welfare of Lucilio, concerning -which he was much more anxious than concerning his own. - -"Let it be as you wish, monsieur!" he said, with a magnanimous smile. -"Where is it your pleasure that we begin?" - -The councillor glanced about the salon. - -"You have many beautiful and costly things here," he said carelessly; -"but I see nothing reprehensible, and I know that you would not conceal -your instruments of deviltry in rooms that are open to every comer. I -have heard of a closed chamber which you call your storeroom, and to -which you do not admit everybody. That is where I should like to go, and -I desire you to lead me thither without remonstrance or deception; for -not only have I a plan of your house, which is not large, but I have the -means to turn everything topsy-turvy, and I should be distressed to have -to proceed to that extremity." - -"It will not be necessary," rejoined the marquis, taking a torch; "I am -ready to satisfy you.--Ah! by the way," he added, stopping at the door, -"I have not the keys of that room, and I cannot admit you without the -aid of my old servant. Is it your pleasure that I call him?" - -"I will send for him," said the councillor opening the door. And he said -to his men, who were on the landing: - -"One of you obey Monsieur de Bois-Doré.--Give your orders, marquis. -What is your servant's name?" - -The marquis, seeing that he was entirely in his guest's power and was to -be kept in sight, resigned himself to the inevitable, and he was about -to name Adamas, without any display of useless anger, when that worthy's -face appeared behind those of the pikemen who were guarding the door. - -"Adamas," he said, "bring me the keys of the storeroom. - -"Yes, monsieur," was the reply "I have them about me, here they are; -but----" - -"Come in," said the councillor to Adamas. - -And, when he had obeyed, he added: - -"Give me the keys, and remain in this room." - -Adamas seemed overwhelmed. He felt in the pocket of his doublet, and -replied to the councillor, with a surprising lack of self-possession: - -"_Yes, sire._" - -At that word, the councillor, as if attacked by vertigo, laid aside his -suave manner, rushed across the room, and hurriedly closed the door -between himself and his men, which had been left open. - -"To whom do you think you are speaking?" he cried, "and why do you -address me so?" - -Adamas stood as if dazed, and his confusion was amusing to the last -degree. - -The marquis had seen the king too often in his childhood, and the -portraits that had been made of him since, to believe for an instant -that the personage before him was the young Louis XIII. He thought that -his poor Adamas was going mad. - -"Answer, I tell you!" continued the councillor impatiently. "Why do you -give me the name applied to majesty?" - -"I do not know, monsieur," replied the crafty Adamas. "I do not know -what I am saying nor where I am. My head is in a whirl with some -surprising news which I have just learned, and which I ask your -permission to tell my master." - -"Tell it! speak! say on!" cried the councillor in an extraordinarily -authoritative tone. - -"Well, master," said Adamas, addressing the marquis, and apparently not -observing the councillor's agitation, "the king is dead!" - -"The king is dead?" cried Monsieur Lenet, rushing toward the door, as if -to go out without taking leave of anyone. - -But he paused, suddenly suspicious. - -"From whom did you learn this news?" he said, scrutinizing Adamas with -gleaming eyes. - -"I learned it from the decrees of destiny. I learned it from heaven -itself," said Adamas with an inspired air. - -"What does this man mean?" demanded Monsieur Lenet. "Bid him explain -himself, Monsieur de Bois-Doré; I insist upon it, do you understand? -and if this news of his is false, woe to him and to you!" - -"True or false, monsieur," replied the marquis, observant of his guest's -excitement, "the news surprises and disturbs me no less than yourself. -Explain yourself, Adamas; how do you know that the king is dead?" - -"I know it by astrology, monsieur! He showed me the figures, and I know -them. I saw, I understood, I read as plainly as possible that the most -powerful individual in the realm had just died." - -"The most powerful individual in the realm!" said the councillor -thoughtfully; "perhaps that is not the king!" - -"You are right, monsieur," said Adamas ingenuously; "perhaps it is -monsieur le connétable. I do not know the signs well enough. I may have -made a mistake; but at all events it is either the king or Monsieur de -Luynes; I will answer for it with my life!" - -"Where is this astrologer?" said the councillor hastily; "let him come -here, I wish to see him!" - -"Yes, sire," replied Adamas, still bewildered and absorbed, hurrying -toward the door. - -"Stay," said Lenet, detaining him. "I insist upon knowing why you call -me so. Tell me, or I will break your head!" - -"Break nothing, monsieur!" replied Adamas; "I have lost my head; can you -not see that? That word comes to my lips, I know not how; as truly as -God is in heaven, this is the first time that I ever saw your face. -Shall I go to find the astrologer?" - -"Yes, hasten! and woe to you all, if there is any trick or snare in all -this! I will put the torch to your hovel!" - -Bois-Doré could do no more than protest his absolute ignorance of this -new episode. He did not in the least understand Adamas's conduct, indeed -he was somewhat disturbed by it. - -He saw clearly enough that the faithful servant had overheard his -conversation with the councillor, and that, to save Lucilio, he was -making use of the idea that had occurred to him, of passing off the -Italian as an astrologer, knowing, as everybody knew, the respect which -the Prince de Condé entertained for the art of divination. But would -the serious-minded Lucilio give his assent to that stratagem? Would he -know how to play his part? - -"However," thought Bois-Doré, "we must rely on Providence and on -Adamas's genius! It is simply a matter of getting rid of the enemy -without his taking possession of my friend's person and mine; after that -we will look to our safety in the future." - - - - -XLIII - - -After a few moments Lucilio appeared with Adamas. He was calm and -smiling as usual. He bowed slightly to the councillor, very low to the -marquis, and handed the latter a paper covered with hieroglyphics. - -"Alas! my friend," said Bois-Doré, "I know nothing about it." - -"Speak!" cried Lenet to the mute, who motioned that that was impossible. -"Then write!" - -Lucilio sat down and wrote: - -"I obey no orders here save those of the Marquis de Bois-Doré; I do not -know you. Leave this room; I will not write before you." - -"_Mordieu_! yes you will!" cried the councillor, beside himself. "I -propose to know everything, and you shall answer me." - -"Forgive him, monsieur," said Adamas; "like all great scholars, he is -very odd and capricious. If you wish him to reveal his secrets, speak to -him gently." - -"Does he want money?" said the councillor; "he shall have it; let him -speak!" - -Lucilio shook his head by way of refusal. - -The councillor seemed to be on burning coals. - -"Come," said he, after a moment of agitated silence, "I will find out -whether you are a learned man or a fool! Look at my hand and tell me -something." - -Lucilio looked at the councillor's hand, rose, turned to Adamas and, -pointing to his scrawl, motioned to him to speak in his place. - -"Yes! I see," said Adamas. "These symbols say that there is a man, a -prince, who wishes to place the crown of France on his head. But where -is the man who has that sign in his hand? I do not know him." - -Lucilio pointed to the councillor's hand. - -"Who am I, pray tell me?" said that personage, exceedingly surprised. - -Lucilio wrote three words which the councillor alone read, and he with -evident emotion. His face changed and his tone became gentler. - -"And the king is dead?" he said, trembling in every limb, with terror or -with joy. "You see that you must answer me, now!" - -Lucilio wrote: - -"The king is well; but Monsieur de Luynes died by the light of the -flames on the 15th of this month, at eleven o'clock at night." - -The pretended Councillor Lenet had no sooner read these words than, -without the slightest sign of doubt, he pulled his hat over his eyes, -hurried into the hall, and without speaking except to order his men to -follow him, remounted and rode away at full speed with his whole escort, -addressing no word of thanks or apology, no promise or threat to his -hosts at Briantes. - -Adamas, the marquis and Lucilio, who had escorted them in silence as far -as the outermost gate, in order to make sure that no suspicious -personage was left behind in the château or in the village, returned to -the salon, where they found Mario. - -They were all so deeply moved that they sat for some moments without -speaking. - -At last the marquis broke the silence. - -"So it was Monsieur le Prince?" he said. - -"Yes," said Lauriane. "I saw him at Bourges three months ago, and I -recognized him at once when I passed through this room and saluted him. -Did you never see him, my dear marquis?" - -"Once or twice, when he was very young, at Paris, but never since. -However, when he mentioned the Prince de Condé, saying that he was in -his personal service, that name fastened itself to the face of the false -Councillor Lenet, and I became more and more convinced every moment that -I was dealing with the master in person. That is why I was so very -patient; and I thank God that I was! But how did it happen that you -thought----" - -"Monsieur de Luynes did actually die, of scarlet fever, on the 15th of -this month, while the king's troops were pillaging and burning unlucky -Monheur, on the Garonne. Here is a letter from my father, telling me the -news, which one of his retainers, who arrived just after the prince and -his suite, succeeded in sending to me secretly by Clindor." - -"This is great news, my children, and the whole policy of the government -will be turned topsy-turvy once more. But which of you had the idea----" - -"I, monsieur," said Adamas, triumphantly; "as soon as Madame Lauriane -said: 'That stranger who is closeted with monsieur le marquis is the -prince and no other,' we all four hid in the little passage that you -know of." - -"We were worried about you," said Mario, "on account of that big escort -of men who had a suspicious, threatening sort of look. Adamas suddenly -thought of what he afterwards did and said." - -"Master Jovelin was none too anxious to lend a hand," added Adamas; "but -we had to save you, there was no time to reflect, and he played his part -cleverly enough, didn't he, monsieur? Now he has his fortune in his own -hands, and if he chooses to replace, or at least to equal in favor the -prince's famous astrologer, who has predicted that he would be King of -France at thirty-four----" - -"I noticed," said the marquis to Jovelin, "that you could not make up -your mind to give him that promise. You simply told him that he had that -ambition. But what shall we do now, my friends? for, as you say, we are -basely betrayed, and we are exposed to many perils of which we have -never thought." - -"We must do nothing, keep perfectly quiet," said Lauriane with decision. -"The prince is galloping south at this moment and will not think of us -again for some time." - -"That is true," said the marquis; "he is off at full speed, in order to -reach the king's side first, and to grasp the power that Monsieur de -Luynes enjoyed, if not the favor. He will have to fight hard for it! -Retz, Schomberg and Puisieux will want their share of the cake, to say -nothing of the fact that madame the queen-mother and her little Bishop -of Luçon will give them some thread to wind! Bah! our petty affairs -have already gone out of our _good_ prince's head, and will never enter -it again perhaps. If only he did not issue any orders against us before -he came hither!" - -"No, monsieur, there is no danger!" said Adamas. "He had his eye on your -treasure, the amount of which must have been grossly exaggerated to him, -since so great a prince does us the honor to call upon us for so small a -matter. Now we are warned; we can easily hide our little hoard and leave -trunks filled with débris for the satisfaction of the curious. The -secret exit from the château will be kept in good condition, and we -will be on our guard against people who ask for shelter from the rain. -But be assured that, if the prince does not come here again in person, -nobody else will think of doing it; for if he has given any orders at -all, they are that no one shall come and put his hand on the dish upon -which he has placed his powerful paw." - -Adamas's reasoning was very sound. He concluded by calling down a -thousand maledictions on Bellinde, who alone could have discovered and -divulged Master Jovelin's real name, the death of D'Alvimar and the -existence of the treasure. - -It was decided that they should consult with Guillaume d'Ars as to the -propriety of announcing D'Alvimar's death or continuing to keep it -secret; and to that end the marquis called upon him the following day, -in the afternoon. - -Guillaume was absent and was not to return until evening. - -The marquis sent a messenger to Briantes to bid them not be anxious if -he returned late, and went to pay a visit to Monsieur Robin de Coulogne, -who was then making a brief sojourn at his estate of Coudray, a pretty -château on the heights of Verneuil, about a league from the château of -Ars. - -Robin, Vicomte de Coulogne, receiver-general of taxes in Berry and -farmer-general of the salt tax, was one of the natural enemies of the -ex-salt-smuggler Bois-Doré; and yet they had been the closest of -friends since the affair of Florimond Dupuy, lord of Vatan. - -Those who know the history of Berry will remember that in 1611, -Florimond Dupuy, a fervent Huguenot and a great smuggler, had, to show -his detestation of the salt tax, kidnapped one of Monsieur Robin's -children. The marquis generously exerted himself to restore the child to -its father, at the risk of a rupture with Florimond, who was, according -to both friends and enemies, "a very uncomfortable bedfellow." - -After this incident, the rebellion assumed such serious proportions, -that it was found necessary to send twelve hundred infantry, a company -of Swiss and twelve guns, to bring Monsieur Dupuy to terms in his -château. - -Twenty-nine of his people were hanged on the spot, to convenient trees, -and his own head was cut off on Place de Grève. Young Robin was -afterward Abbé of Sorrèze. The elder Robin was a grateful and devoted -debtor of Monsieur de Bois-Doré, and we may well believe that the -marquis owed it to that friendship that he was never molested for his -former acts of complicity in the crime of salt-smuggling. - -So Bois-Doré opened his heart to that faithful friend concerning a part -of the embarrassment with which he was threatened by the prince's visit, -and confessed that he was particularly disturbed concerning worthy -Lucilio, whose presence in his house the hypocritical zealots of the -province regarded with an evil eye. - -"Your fears seem to me exaggerated," said the viscount. "Monsieur de -Groot, whom scholars call Grotius, and who was sentenced to life -imprisonment in his own country, succeeded in escaping, did he not, -concealed in a chest, thanks to the courage and adroitness of his wife, -and took refuge in Paris, where he is neither tormented nor even annoyed -by anyone? Why should not your Italian enjoy the same privileges in -France?" - -"Because the government of France, which is not at all anxious to offend -the Gomarists of Holland and Maurice of Nassau, will be most eager to -please the pope by persecuting one of his victims. Twenty years -Campanella has been in prison, and although he is esteemed and pitied in -France, nothing is done to release him from the hands of his -executioners; God knows whether they would give him shelter at this -moment, openly!" - -"Perhaps you are right," said Monsieur de Coulogne. "Very good; I -approve your idea of effecting your friend's escape, at the slightest -danger that may threaten your château; but I think that you should -select a place of refuge to which he can go at once in case of alarm. -Have you thought about it?" - -"Yes, indeed," the marquis replied, "and I wish to consult you on that -point. You own an old manor-house near by, which seems to be quite -inhabitable, although I have never entered it. It is so near my house -that a man pressed for time can reach there in an hour. It is also near -a small farm-house of yours, and if you should give orders to the -farmers to that effect, they would be ready, if anything should happen, -to conceal and care for my poor fugitive. Will you do me this service?" - -"Ask me for my life if you will, marquis; it is yours. So much the more -are my servants, my property, my houses at your service. But let me -reflect concerning the suitability of the place you have in mind: you -refer to my old manor of Brilbault, do you not?" - -"Precisely." - -"Very well, let us see: it stands quite alone in its grounds, and the -roads leading to it are detestable; so far so good. It is not upon the -road to any town or village; another point in its favor. The place -belongs to me, and the provost's people would never dare to cross the -threshold. Moreover, the house is supposed to be haunted by the most -uproarious and discontented spirits in the world, the result being that -no marauding peasant is tempted to enter, no passer-by to stop there. -This is better and better. Yes, I see that your choice, is a good one, -and I will go thither with you to-night, to give the farmer the -necessary orders." - -Bois-Doré, having reflected in his turn, concluded that it would be -better for him to go alone, in order not to arouse suspicion. - -"Your farmers are no strangers to me," he said. "They were formerly -associates of mine in--you know what!" - -"Yes, yes, you villain," laughed the viscount; "they procured their salt -cheap through you! Very well, take that road when you return; the -streams are not full yet, and you can pass without danger. You can tell -Jean Faraudet, the farmer, as if I had taken advantage of your passing -to send him the message, to come to see me early to-morrow morning. You -can cast a glance at the house and examine the surroundings, so that you -will be able to direct your friend; indeed, it will be well for him to -go there secretly to-morrow night, in order to become familiar with the -roads and the entrances. In that way, if he should be obliged to take -refuge there, he could do so without losing his way or making any -mistake." - -"Agreed," said the marquis, "and pray accept a thousand thanks for -setting my mind at rest." - -The viscount kept the marquis to supper; after which he entered his -carriage just at nightfall, and took once more the road to Ars, which -was little better than that leading to Brilbault. His reason for taking -that direction was that he did not wish his chariot, which always -created a sensation, to be seen in the neighborhood of the ruined manor. - -With even more forethought than Monsieur Robin had advised, he alighted -about a fourth of a league from the place which he proposed to inspect, -ordered his servants to go quietly to Ars, and, taking one of the -innumerable little paths in which Monsieur de Coulogne had probably -never set his foot, but which were as familiar to the old smuggler as -the paths in his rabbit warren, he disappeared in the damp underbrush, -after pulling his boots up above his knees. - - - - -XLIV - - -It was a mild night and not very dark, despite the heavy black clouds -which the wind drove across the sky, opening long furrows filled with -stars, which suddenly closed to open anew in another place. - -It is said that our noble or bourgeois ancestors were unquestionably -more robust than we are to-day, while, on the contrary, our workmen and -peasant ancestors were less so. - -Such is the belief of the old men of my province, and it seems to me to -be well-founded; well-to-do people were accustomed to an abundance of -fresh air and exercise of which modern life deprives us, or which it -makes unnecessary. The poorer classes were more poorly housed and not so -well fed as in our day, to say nothing of the immense number of -unfortunate wretches who were not housed or fed at all. The gentleman, -with his régime of fighting and hunting, retained his health and -strength to a very advanced age. - -Bois-Doré, despite his sixty-nine years and the comparative effeminacy -of his habits, still had strong sight, lungs impervious to the cold, and -was sure-footed on the bare ground or on wet grass. - -He slipped once or twice as he skirted the bushes, but he saved himself -by clinging to the branches, like a man who knows how to take care of -himself in a locality where the irregularities of the ground vary little -over a large extent of territory. - -Thanks to the short cut he had taken, he reached the farm of Brilbault -in ten minutes. - -Knowing the timid and superstitious character of the peasants, he -coughed and spoke before knocking; then, as he knocked, he gave his -name, and was received without alarm, at all events, if not without -surprise. - -Although the condition of the farming class was still very wretched, it -was much less so, morally speaking, in Berry, which had long been a -province of freeholds, than in those provinces where serfdom still -existed. Moreover, in that region which is called the Black Valley, -material resources have always assured the farmer, whether proprietor or -tenant, a relative well-being which has saved him from great disasters -and great epidemics. - -At this period the leprosy hospitals were already empty; the pest, still -so frequent in La Brenne and the neighborhood of Bourges, rarely -scourged Fromental. The dwelling-houses, which were filthy and -pestilential in the Marche and the Bourbonnais, were, at least in our -neighborhood, stoutly built and healthy, as is proved by a large number -of old country houses of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which -are still standing and easily recognizable by their vast tiled roofs, -their windows framed with stone cut in the shape of prisms, and their -attic windows surmounted by great sheaves of grain moulded in terra -cotta.[5] - -The marquis felt no repugnance, therefore, to entering the farmer's -house, taking his seat by the fireplace, and chatting for a few moments -there. - -As everybody loved him, the _good monsieur_ could safely entrust to Jean -Faraudet and his wife, if necessary, the care of a friend of his who was -being prosecuted, he said, for an offence against the game laws; and -when he informed them that their master, Monsieur Robin, wished to see -them the next morning, to give them orders to that effect, they seemed -overjoyed and eager to obey, answering him with the sacramental phrase -expressive of zeal and willingness in that country:--"_Il y a bien -moyen_!" - -Madame Faraudet, however, who was called La Grand' Cateline, could not -refrain from pitying the man who should be condemned to pass even a -single night at the château of Brilbault. - -She firmly believed that it was haunted, and her husband, after laughing -at her as a sop to the marquis's scepticism, eventually admitted that he -would rather die than put foot inside the building after sunset. - -"My friend's presence," said the marquis, "will give you courage, I -trust, for I promise you that it will drive away the evil spirits; but, -since you are not afraid to enter the house by daylight, I beg you to -put some wood on the hearth and prepare a bed in the best room that -there is." - -"We will carry everything there that is necessary, my dear monsieur," -replied La Grand' Cateline; "but the poor Christian who goes there won't -sleep a wink. He will hear a terrible uproar and hurly-burly all night, -just as we do, may the good Lord preserve us! and as you will hear them -yourself if you choose to wait till after twelve o'clock." - -"I cannot wait," said the marquis, "and besides, the spirits wouldn't -stir, knowing that I was there. I know what cowards they are, for I -never have succeeded in hearing the voices that shout at the top of the -donjon at Briantes, on Christmas night, nor the doors that open -themselves at La Motte-Seuilly, nor the white lady who pulls aside the -bed-curtains at the château of Ars." - -"It's a curious thing, Monsieur Sylvain," said the farmer with a knowing -air, "that there should be apparitions in our old château. We all know -that there may be such things in other châteaux, because there aren't -any of them where some great wrong hasn't been done or suffered; and -that's the reason why the poor Christians who have been tortured or -heartbroken in those houses return to them afterward to complain, as -souls asking for prayers or justice. But in the château of Brilbault, -which was never occupied, there never has been any good or evil done so -far as I know." - -"We must believe," said the woman, who plied her distaff busily as she -talked, "that the former lord died in a distant land, by violence and in -sin; for you know the legend of Brilbault, don't you? It isn't long. A -noble had built this château as far as the roof, when he started for -the Holy Land with his seven sons. The château was sold again and -again, but no one ever fancied it. People thought that it brought -families ill-luck; that is why it has never been used except to store -crops. They put on a roof which is good for nothing now; but there are -still two fine rooms and such a hall! So big that two people can hardly -recognize each other from one end to the other." - -"Can you let me have the keys?" said the marquis; "I would like to see -the interior." - -"Here are the keys; but my dear Monsieur Sylvain of the good Lord, don't -go there! It is just the time for the deviltry to begin." - -"What deviltry, my good friends?" said the marquis laughingly; "what -sort of creatures are these wicked devils?" - -"I have never seen them, monsieur, nor wanted to see them," said the -farmer; "but I hear them well enough, I hear them too well! Some groan -and others sing. There's laughter, then yelling and swearing and weeping -till daybreak, when they all fly away through the air; for it is -securely locked, and no human being can enter without leave or help from -me." - -"May it not be that your farm-hands go there to amuse themselves, or -some thief to prevent you detecting his thievery?" - -"No, monsieur, no! Our workmen and servants are so frightened that with -all your money you couldn't hire them to go within two gunshots of the -château after sunset; indeed, you see they no longer sleep in our -house, because they say it's too near that infernal building. They all -sleep in the barn yonder at the end of the yard." - -"So much the better for the little secret we have together to-night," -said the marquis; "but so much the better too, perhaps, for those who -play the part of ghosts for the sole purpose of robbing you!" - -"What could they steal, pray, Monsieur Sylvain? There's nothing in the -château. When I saw that the devil used torches there, I was afraid of -a fire, and I took out my whole crop, except a few little fagots and a -dozen bundles of hay and straw, which I left in order not to make them -too angry, for they say that imps like to play about in the hay and the -branches; and, to tell the truth, I found it all tossed about and -trampled; it was as if fifty living men had walked over it." - -The marquis knew Faraudet to be very truthful and incapable of inventing -anything whatsoever to avoid doing him a service. - -He began to think therefore that, if lights were seen in the old manor, -if voices were heard there, and above all, if feet or bodies trampled -and disturbed the straw, there was more reality than deviltry in that -state of affairs, and that the château, which the farmer and his wife -confessed that they had not dared to enter for more than six weeks, -might very well be used already as a refuge by fugitives. - -"Whether they be maleficent or congenial, I propose to see them," he -said to himself. - -And, putting his naked sword under his arm, carrying the keys of the -château in one hand and a lantern in the other, he started across the -fields toward the silent, ruined structure. - -Faraudet, when his wife began to lament the _good monsieur's_ rashness, -was ashamed to let him go alone and decided to accompany him. - -But when the marquis had crossed the bridge, he found that the poor -peasant was trembling so violently, that he feared that he should be -more embarrassed than assisted by a man in such a plight and begged him -to go no farther. - -Most of the châteaux in the Black Valley, even those of the primitive -Middle Ages, are situated in the depths of the valleys instead of on the -high land, as in La Marche and the Bourbonnais. There is a very -plausible explanation of this anomaly. In a region devoid of any -considerable elevations, the water-courses afford the best means of -defence. - -At Brilbault therefore, as at Briantes, La Motte-Seuilly, -Saint-Chartier, La Motte-de-Presles, etc., the manor-house was built on -a winding stream of sufficient size to fill with running water the -double circular moat. - -The bridge over the outer moat was very narrow and supported upon arches -of no definite type, midway between the full arch and the ogive. - -The whole château was of a transitional style of architecture; the -façade was of a curious shape; the door and the staircase window above -it were set in the wall to a depth of several mètres, as if for -protection from attacks from without. - -The top of the building should have been _mascherolé_ at that point; -but it was originally left unfinished and was finally surmounted by a -roof entirely out of keeping with the rest of the structure, which -indicated a scheme of some grandeur never carried to completion. - -The marquis went straight to the château as the crow flies; the -encircling walls had crumbled to such an extent and sustained so many -breaches, the moats were so completely filled in innumerable places, -that it was not necessary to go to the gates. - -He noiselessly opened the main door, which was small and low, under a -rampant arch surmounted by an ogive of carved flower-work. - -There he partly opened his lantern to look at the floor at his feet, for -the farmer had warned him to be careful of the staircase. - - -[Footnote 5: These sheaves, which are rare and much prized by -archæologists, have retained a sort of traditional vogue in certain -localities; the potteries of Verneuil make very pretty ones after old -models. The small urn, with four or six handles on several different -levels, and surmounted by birds or flowers, is reproduced in their -system of decoration.] - - - - -XLV - - -It was a spiral staircase of great beauty, broad enough for six persons -and as light as the sticks of a fan. It was built of a friable white -stone; many steps had been entirely destroyed by the fall of some -portion of the building; but those which remained seemed freshly hewn -and bore no trace of wear. At each half turn of the spiral was a step, -supported by a grinning face, a fantastic beast, or the bust of an armed -man carved in relief on the wall. - -The marquis was interested in these figures, which seemed to move in the -flickering light of his lantern. - -He ascended the stairs slowly, listening whenever he stopped; and as he -heard no other sound than that of the wind in the crumbling roof, and as -the doors of the rooms that he passed were secured by padlocks, he -became more and more doubtful of the existence of any inhabitants -whatsoever. Thus he reached the upper floor, where were the two -apartments originally intended for the châtelain. - -As it was the custom, in the Middle Ages, for the lord of the manor to -have his own quarters under the eaves, and, if necessary, to destroy the -staircase and sustain a siege in his own apartments, gaps were often -left in building stairways, so that the châtelain could reach his nest -only by means of a ladder which he drew up after him at night. In other -instances the steps of the last flight were purposely made so thin that -a few blows with a bar sufficed to shatter them. - -The latter was the case at the château of Brilbault; and the gaps for -which the marquis had to be on the lookout were caused by accident, as -we have said. With his long legs he was able to straddle them without -serious danger. - -These two rooms being those which the farmer had mentioned as suitable -for Lucilio's occupancy in case of need, Bois-Doré's first impulse was -to go in and see if they were provided with window-frames, or at least -with shutters at the windows; for all of the narrow, deep-set windows in -the stairway, with stone benches placed diagonally across the -embrasures, admitted violent gusts of wind, from which he had difficulty -in protecting his light. - -But, as he was on the point of opening those seignioral apartments, of -which he had the keys, the marquis hesitated. - -If the manor-house was in reality resorted to as a place of refuge by -any person, that person was probably in those rooms, and, being -surprised in his sleep, would seek to defend himself without awaiting an -explanation. His proposed exploration therefore should be conducted with -due prudence. The marquis did not believe in ghosts, and was the less -disposed to fear living things because he was not seeking them with any -evil purpose. If some poor devil were in hiding there, he was resolved, -whoever he might be, to leave him there in peace and not betray the -secret he had surprised. - -But the refugee's first fright might assume the form of hostility. The -marquis could have made no appreciable noise in entering and ascending -the stairs, as nothing stirred. It was most advisable for him to make -sure of the truth unseen and unheard, if possible, or at all events -without making his appearance too abruptly. - -With that end in view, he entered a room with no door, where the most -absolute darkness reigned, all the windows being covered with boards or -stuffed with straw. The floor was covered with a layer of dust and -pulverized cement, of such depth that one's footsteps were deadened by -it as by ashes. - -Bois-Doré walked for a long while, hardly able to see where he was -going. He had closed his lantern, which was unprovided with glass or -horn, but had a half cylinder of iron with three holes in it, according -to the custom of the province. He did not venture to open it until he -had reached the end of that vast apartment and had satisfied himself -that he was in an absolutely silent and deserted spot. - -Then he placed his light on the floor in front of him and stepped back -to an enormous fire-place which was near at hand. - -Standing there, he was able to accustom his eyes little by little to so -faint a light in so vast a space, and to make out that he was in a hall -which extended the whole length of the château. - -He examined the fire-place by which he was standing. Like everything -else it was of white stone, and the square bases, projecting from the -massive columns, seemed as fresh and new as if they had been hewn the -day before; the double fillets of the mantel were neither marred nor -chipped, and the same was true of the escutcheon, without coat-of-arms, -which crowned the mantel. Even the smoke-flue, and the fire-place -itself, which was not sheathed with iron, bore no traces of fire, smoke -or ashes. The unfinished building had never been used, that was evident. -No one had ever occupied, no one now occupied that bare, cheerless hall. - -Having satisfied himself of that fact, the marquis made bold to go to -ascertain why a barrier of boards, waist-high, extended diagonally -across that immense room at a point halfway between the two ends. Upon -reaching that point, he found himself looking into space. The floor had -fallen or been cut away, as had that of the lower stories, in quite half -of the building, perhaps to facilitate the storing of the crops. - -The eye plunged into the darkness of an expanse that seemed as large as -the interior of a cathedral. - -Bois-Doré had been there for some moments, trying to form a just idea -of his surroundings, when, from the depths which his eyes questioned in -vain, a sort of groan rose to his ears. - -He started, closed his lantern, and concealed it behind the boards, held -his breath and listened intently, for his hearing was a little dull and -might deceive him as to the nature of the sounds. - -Was it a door or a shutter closed by the wind? - -He had not waited three minutes when the same groan was repeated, even -more distinct, and at the same time it seemed to him that a faint ray of -light, very far below him, illumined those depths, which, viewed from -his position, were literally an abyss. - -He knelt to avoid being seen, and looked between the boards which served -him as a balustrade. - -The light rapidly increased and soon became bright enough to enable him -to see, or rather to divine, in a vague blending of light and shadow, -the outline of a room on the ground floor, as large as that in which he -was, but evidently much higher before the crumbling of the intermediate -floors, as he could judge by the spring of the arched ceiling which -rested upon bases embellished with fanciful human and animal figures, -much larger and protruding farther than those he had previously seen on -the stairway. - -The only furniture consisted of several piles of dry forage, and boards -arranged as a barrier near one end, with the broken remains of a number -of mangers. The room had been used for a long time as a stable for -cattle. Among the boards could be seen pieces of yokes and ploughshares. -Then all these things were shrouded in shadow once more, and the light, -ascending, struck the great stretch of wall which formed the gable end -of the building, and which was directly opposite the marquis, some forty -feet in height. - -This light, now pale, now reddish, came from an invisible flame placed -under the ceiling of the ground-floor apartment--that is to say, under -that part of it which had not fallen, corresponding to that from which -the marquis watched this gloomy, flickering tableau. - -Suddenly there was a noise of doors closing, footsteps and voices under -that ceiling, and a confused mass of moving shadows, sometimes of -enormous size, sometimes stunted as it were, was thrown in the most -curious fashion on the high wall, as if a great number of persons were -passing back and forth in front of a great fire. - -"This is a very strange game of hide-and-seek," thought the marquis, -"and it is impossible to deny that this château is filled with -wandering, chattering ghosts. Let us hear what they say." - -He listened, but he could not succeed in distinguishing a single phrase, -a word, a syllable, amid a loud murmur of words, songs, groans and -laughter. - -The appalling resonance of the arched ceiling, which hurled the sounds -like shadows against the opposite wall, blended all the voices in a -single one--all the words in a confused murmur. - -The marquis was not deaf, but he had the sensitive hearing peculiar to -old men, who can hear very distinctly sounds that are moderately loud -and words clearly articulated, but whom an uproar, a hurly-burly of -voices disturbs and confuses to no purpose. - -Thus he distinguished intonations, nothing more: sometimes that of a -hoarse, loud voice, which seemed to be telling a story; sometimes the -refrain of a ballad abruptly interrupted by threatening accents; and -then a loud voice which seemed to ridicule and imitate the others, and -which raised a tempest of uproarious and brutal laughter. - -Sometimes there were long monologues, then dialogues between two or -three, and suddenly shouts of anger or merriment which resembled roars. -Indeed, it might be that those people were speaking a language which the -marquis did not know. - -He persuaded himself that they were simply a band of vagrants or -mountebanks out of employment, living by marauding, and waiting under -cover of that ruin for the spring to come, or perhaps in hiding there -because of some crime. - -That laughter, those strange costumes outlined on the wall like Chinese -ghosts, those long harangues, those animated dialogues were connected -perhaps with the study of some burlesque art. - -"If I were nearer to them," he thought, "I might be amused; no man is -ever ill received in any company, however bad it may be, if he enters it -offering his purse with a good grace." - -So he took up his lantern and was preparing to descend, when the -conversations, songs and laughter changed into cries of animals, so -lifelike, so perfectly imitated, that one would have said that it was a -whole barnyard in commotion. There were the ox, the ass, the horse, the -goat, the rooster, the duck and the lamb, all braying and crowing -together. Then they all ceased, as if to listen to the barking of a pack -of hounds, the blast of the horn--all the typical noises of a hunt. - -Was it a game? Did it occur to the actors to look at themselves on the -wall? They did not seem to be imitating the actions of the beasts whose -cries they mimicked. - -In the midst of the uproar a child cried out in a shrill voice, perhaps -to do as the others did, perhaps because he was frightened in his sleep; -and Bois-Doré saw the shadow of a tiny person pass, with gestures like -those of a monkey. Next there came a huge head crowned by a sort of -plumed helmet, with an absurd nose outlined against the bright wall; -then a long-haired head which seemed to wear a priest's cap, and which -conversed with a long shadow that stood for many minutes as motionless -as a statue. - -Then all the noises suddenly ceased, and naught could be heard save a -low groaning, which resembled the groaning caused by physical pain, and -which Bois-Doré had constantly detected, recurring at intervals, like a -doleful chord on an organ, in the pauses of that wild charivari. - -The tumult stilled, the shadow of a gigantic crucifix was thrown upon -the wall. - -The light seemed to change its position, and the cross became very -small; at last it disappeared, and its place was taken by a single -figure very sharply outlined, while a sepulchral voice recited in a -monotonous tone a prayer which seemed to be the prayer for those who are -in the death agony. - - - - -XLVI - - -Bois-Doré, who had held his place, detained by the amusement he derived -from that phantasmagoric spectacle and those strange noises, was -beginning to feel so cold that his teeth fairly chattered when this -tedious ceremony began. - -This time, although he had determined to go to see what was taking -place, he was withheld by the appalling resemblance presented by the -last apparition. It became more precise and more unmistakable as the -sepulchral voice proceeded with its sepulchral prayer, and the marquis, -as if fascinated, could not remove his eyes from it. - -That head, so easily recognizable by the short hair, cut _à la -malcontent_, by the Spanish ruff in which it was framed as it were, by -its sharp and angular, yet refined outlines, and lastly by the peculiar -shape of the beard and moustache, was the head of D'Alvimar, thrown back -in the rigor of death. - -At first Bois-Doré fought against the idea; then it took entire -possession of him, became a certainty, a source of intense agitation and -insurmountable terror. - -He had never believed that he was in any danger from ghosts. He said and -he thought that, having never put any man to death from revenge or from -cruelty, he was quite sure that he should never be visited by any soul -in anger or distress; but he was no more disposed than the majority of -sensible men of his time to deny the return of spirits to earth, or the -reality of the apparitions which so many persons entirely worthy of -confidence described in detail. - -"This D'Alvimar is surely dead," he thought; "I touched his cold limbs; -I saw his body, already stiff in death, taken from his horse's back. He -has been reposing underground for several weeks, and yet I see him here -before me, I who have always refused to see anything supernatural where -others saw terrible phantoms! Was this man, contrary to all appearances, -innocent of the crime of which I accused him and for which I punished -him? Is this a rebuke of my conscience? Is it a vision of my brain? Is -it the chilling atmosphere of this ruin stealing over me and confusing -my faculties? Whatever it may be," he thought, "I have had enough of -it." - -And, feeling the dizziness which is the precursor of a swoon, he dragged -himself out to the stairway. There he recovered himself somewhat, and -descended the ruinous spiral staircase with a firm step. But, when he -reached the foot, instead of mustering courage to force his way into the -apartments on the ground floor, he had no desire to see or hear anything -further; and impelled by an unconquerable feeling of repugnance, he -rushed forth into the fields, confessing his fear to himself, and ready -to avow it artlessly to the first person who should question him -concerning it. - -He found the farmer, more dead than alive, waiting for him on the -bridge. - -It was an heroic act on the good man's part to remain there. He was -incapable of saying or listening to anything whatsoever, and not until -he and the marquis had returned to the farmhouse, did he venture to ask -any questions. - -"Well, my poor dear Monsieur Sylvain," he said, "I trust you have had -your fill of watching their lights, and listening to their bellowing! I -thought surely I should never see you come back!" - -"It is certain that something out of the common course is taking place -in that ruin," said the marquis, tossing off a glass of wine which the -farmer's wife handed him, and which was by no means unacceptable. - -"I fell in with no evil spirits there---" - -"Ah! but you're whiter than your ruffles, my dear monsieur!" said La -Grand' Cateline. "Warm yourself, pray, my lord, so that you won't be -sick." - -"To tell the truth, I was very cold," replied the marquis, "and I -fancied that I saw things which perhaps I didn't see at all; but the -walk will quicken my blood, and I fear to alarm my family by remaining -longer. Good night to you, good people! Drink to my health." - -He paid them handsomely for their eagerness to oblige, and returned to -his carriage, which was waiting for him at the place where he had left -it. Aristandre had begun to be anxious; but, when the marquis assured -him that nothing unpleasant had happened to him, the honest coachman was -convinced that Adamas was not boasting when he declared that monsieur -still indulged in gallant adventures. - -"There must be some pretty shepherdess at that farm!" he said to Clindor -as they drove homeward. - -He was confirmed in this sagacious idea when his master forbade him to -speak of his trip through the fields. - -Instead of stopping at Ars, the marquis bade him drive on to Briantes. -He was surprised at and already a little ashamed of the momentary panic -that had caused him to leave Brilbault without fathoming the mystery. - -"If I say anything about it, they will laugh at me," he thought; "they -will say under their breaths that I am becoming a dotard in my old age. -It will be much better not to mention it to anyone; and, as it makes -little difference, after all, whether Brilbault is in the hands of a -band of gypsies or of sorcerers, I will look about for some other -quieter place of refuge for Lucilio." - -As he approached the château, his mind, becoming constantly calmer, -questioned itself concerning its sensations. - -What impressed him most deeply was the fact that he had been surprised -by terror at a moment when nothing had happened which tended to terrify -him; when, on the contrary, he had felt strongly inclined to laugh at -the whimsical antics of those imps and the amusing oddity of their -shadows on the wall. - -As a result of his reflections on this subject, he ordered Aristandre to -stop at the Chambon meadow and walked the short distance from the road -to the cottage of Marie the gardener, called La Caille-Bottée. - -That cottage still exists; it is occupied by market-gardeners. It is a -tumble-down structure, flanked by a stair-turret built of stones without -mortar. The pretty orchard, surrounded by dense hedges and wild -bramble-bushes, was, so it is said, a gift from Monsieur de Bois-Doré -to La Caille-Bottée. - -He found the lay brother there, sharing the convent repast with his -mistress, who shared with him the wine and the fruit from her garden. - -Their partnership was not avowed, however; they observed some -precaution, in order not to be "ordered to marry," and thereby to lose -the veteran's privilege enjoyed by Jean le Clope at the Carmelite -convent. - - -[Illustration: _THE MARQUIS AT LA CAILLE-BOTTÉE'S_ - -"_Have no fear, my friends," said the marquis, interrupting -their tête-à-tête. "We have a secret together, -and I simply wish to say a word to you._" - -"_Present, captain!" replied Jean le Clope, coming -out from under the table where he had taken refuge._] - - -"Have no fear, my friends," said the marquis, interrupting their -tête-à-tête. "We have a secret together, and I simply wish to say a -word to you." - -"Present, captain!" replied Jean le Clope, coming out from under the -table where he had taken refuge; "I beg you to forgive me, but I didn't -know who was coming to the house, and people make so much talk about -me!" - -"Very unjustly, I doubt not," said the marquis with a smile. "But look -you, my friend; I have not seen you since a certain occurrence. I sent -you a slight acknowledgment by Adamas, to whom you swore that you had -faithfully carried out my orders. Having an opportunity to-night to -speak to you a moment alone, I wish to learn from you some of the -details as to the manner in which you did the business." - -"What's that, captain? there's no two ways of burying a dead man, and I -did a Christian's duty as Christianly as the prior of _my_ community -could have done it." - -"I do not doubt it, comrade; but were you prudent?" - -"Does my captain doubt me?" cried the veteran, with a sensitiveness -which was particularly noticeable in him after supper. - -"I do not doubt your discretion, Jean, but I have a little doubt of your -skill in concealing this interment; for Monsieur d'Alvimar's death is -known to my enemies to-day, and yet I can no more doubt the -trustworthiness of my servants than I can doubt yours." - -"Alas! monsieur le marquis, your servants were not the only ones in the -secret," observed La Caille-Bottée sagaciously; "Monsieur d'Ars's -servants may have told; and besides, weren't you looking that night for -a man who had escaped and whom you wanted to catch?" - -"That is true; he is the only one whom I suspect. I have not come here -to reproach you, my friends, but to ask you where, when and how you -buried that body." - -"Where?" said Jean le Clope, glancing at La Caille-Bottée. "In our -garden, and if you want to see the place----" - -"I do not care about it. But was it quite dark, or had the day begun to -break?" - -"It was about--two or three o'clock in the morning," said the lay -brother with some hesitation, glancing again at the pock-marked old -maid, who seemed to suggest his answers with her eyes. - -"And nobody saw you?" said Bois-Doré, watching them both closely. - -That question threw the lay brother into confusion, and the marquis -detected more significant glances between him and his companion. It was -becoming evident to him that they were afraid they had been seen, and -that, in their fear of being contradicted by a reliable witness, they -dared not go into details concerning the manner in which they had -carried out the marquis's wishes. - -He rose and repeated the question in an imperative tone. - -"Alas! my good lord," said La Caille-Bottée, falling on her knees, -"forgive this poor cripple in body and mind, who has probably drunk a -little too much to-night, and can't say just what he wants to say!" - -"Yes, forgive me, captain," added the veteran, deeply affected -apparently by the plight of his own brain, and kneeling in his turn. - -"You have deceived me, my friends!" said the marquis, determined to -force the truth from them; "you did not bury Monsieur d'Alvimar -yourselves! You were afraid, or had scruples, or did not like to do it; -you notified Monsieur Poulain." - -"No, monsieur, no!" cried La Caille-Bottée earnestly; "we would never -have done such a thing, knowing that Monsieur Poulain is against you! -Since you know that we didn't obey you, you must know also that it -wasn't our fault, and that the devil in person had a hand in it." - -"Tell me what happened," rejoined the marquis; "I propose to find out -whether you will tell me the truth." - -The gardener, convinced that the marquis knew more than she knew -herself, told her story succinctly as follows: - -"When you had gone, dear monsieur, the first thing we did was to carry -the dead body into our garden, where we covered it over with a great -mat; for I wasn't at all anxious to bring it into the house, and didn't -see the use of it. I confess that I was terribly afraid of it, and I -wouldn't have consented to receive such company for anybody but you, my -good monsieur. - -"Jean called me a fool and laughed at me, while he was drinking the rest -of his wine, to protect himself from the cold night air, so he said, but -perhaps it was to turn his mind away from the dismal thoughts that -always come to a body at the sight of a corpse, no matter how hard your -heart may be. - -"I must also confess that the first thing poor Jean here thought of was -to take what there was in the dead man's pockets and in the saddle-bags -on the horse that brought him here. You hadn't said anything about it, -so we thought it belonged to us, and we were sitting here counting the -money on the table, so that we could hand over every sou to you, if you -should claim it. - -"There was a good-sized purse full of gold, and Jean, who was still -drinking, enjoyed staring at it and handling it. What can you expect, -monsieur? poor people like us are surprised when we have any of it to -handle. And we were making plans about how we would spend that fortune. -Jean wanted to buy a vineyard, but I said it would be much better to -have an orchard well stocked with bearing nut trees; and here we sat, -half laughing with joy to find ourselves so rich, half disputing over -the use we should make of our money, when the cuckoo-clock struck four -in the morning. - -"'Now,' says I to poor Jean, 'I am not afraid any more, and as you -aren't very spry with your wooden leg, although you can use the spade a -little with your good foot, I'll help you to dig the grave. I never -wished ill to any living man; but as long as this gentleman is dead, I -don't want him to come to life again. There are people in the world who, -by going out of it, benefit those who are left.' - -"I shall have to admit my guilt, my dear monsieur, for that's the only -prayer that that wicked Jean and I said for the dead man. - -"Well, we took the spade, and both of us went back into the garden and -took up the mat where we had hidden the body. Who was surprised, -monsieur? There was nothing under it; somebody had stolen our corpse! We -looked everywhere, turned everything over: nothing, monsieur, nothing! -We thought we had gone mad and had dreamed everything that had happened -that night, and I ran back into the house to see if the money wasn't a -vision. - -"Well, monsieur, if you were not here questioning us, we might believe -that the devil had been acting a farce for us; for the drawer in which I -had put the money and jewels was open, and it had all flown away from -the house while we were in the garden, just as the dead man had flown -away from the garden while we were in the house." - -As she finished her story, La Caille-Bottée bewailed the loss of the -money, and the lay brother, who only awaited an opportunity to weep, -shed tears too manifestly sincere for the marquis to entertain any doubt -as to the strange and twofold theft committed on their premises, of a -full purse and a deceased dead man, as the gardener said in a doleful -tone. - - - - -XLVII - - -During this duet of lamentations, the marquis reflected. - -"Tell me, my friends," he said, "did you see no footprints in your -garden, no indication that your house had been entered by violent -means?" - -"We paid no attention to that matter for some time," replied La -Caille-Bottée, "we were too much upset; but when it was daylight, we -examined everything as well as we could. There was nothing unusual in -the house. They must have come in as soon as our backs were turned; we -left the door and the drawer open, and the money in plain sight; we were -much to blame for that, alas!" - -"In that case," observed the marquis, "the deceased did not go away -unaided, and had not only friends to take away his remains, but others -to recover his money and jewels." - -"I imagine, monsieur, that there were only two of them for the first -task, and one for the last, and that one not connected with the others; -for we discovered the prints of two pair of feet on our flower-beds, -going toward the fence on the Briantes side, and those feet seemed to -have had on boots or pattens; while on the gravel in our little yard, -there were the marks of bare feet, little child's feet, going toward the -town. But, as there was already water in the paths, we couldn't discover -anything outside of our own place." - -Bois-Doré reasoned thus mentally: - -"Sancho, having made his escape, must have followed and watched us. Then -he probably went to Monsieur Poulain, who sent someone or came himself -with Sancho, to obtain D'Alvimar's body and bury it. That accounts for -the denunciation. For reasons of which I know nothing, the rector dared -not exhibit the body to his parishioners and denounce me publicly. -Perhaps he wished to give Sancho time to make his escape. As for the -money, some little reprobate must have noticed the going in and out, -listened at the door, and seized the opportunity: that is of very little -consequence to me." - -Then, having reflected further upon the whole matter and asked various -questions which resulted in throwing no new light, he said: - -"My friends, when we brought that dead man here across his horse, we -left the saddle-bags with you, with no other purpose than to rid -ourselves of them and wash our hands of everything that had belonged to -our enemy. The next day, however, on reflecting that those saddle-bags -might contain papers of interest to us, we sent to you to obtain them, -and you told Adamas that they contained nothing except a change of -clothing and a little linen--no papers or documents of any kind." - -"That is the truth, monsieur," replied the gardener, "and we can show -them to you now, just as they were given to us. The thief didn't see -them lying on the bed, where we tossed them, or else he didn't choose to -burden himself with them." - -The marquis caused them to be brought, and verified the truth of her -statement. - -However, on examining them and turning them over, he discovered a sort -of secret pocket, which had escaped the notice of his hosts, and of -which the stitching had to be ripped in order to open it. He found there -some papers which he carried away, after compensating the gardener and -the veteran for the loss they had sustained, and enjoining silence upon -them until further orders. - -It was after eleven o'clock when the marquis returned home. - -Mario was not asleep; he was playing jackstraws with Lauriane in the -salon, being unwilling to go to bed until his father returned safely. - -Lucilio was reading by the fire, not allowing his attention to be -distracted by the laughter of the children, but pleasantly soothed in -his deep meditations by that fresh, charming music, to which his loving -heart and his musical ear were peculiarly sensitive. - -Since he had played the soothsayer in monsieur le prince's presence, the -children called him the astrologer, and teased him to make him smile. -The good-natured savant smiled as much as they wished without ceasing -his mental labor, for his kindly disposition and gentle instincts -remained united to his body, so to speak, and spoke through his -beautiful Italian eyes, even when his mind was voyaging in celestial -spheres. - -Adamas, who, despite his adoration for his little count, was bored to -the point of melancholy by the absence of his divine marquis, was -wandering about the halls and the courtyard like a soul in distress, -when he heard at last the echoing trot of Pimante and Squilindre and the -grinding of the stones in the road, which were crushed under the wheels -of the monumental chariot like grapes in the wine-press. - -"Here comes monsieur!" he cried, throwing open the door of the salon as -noisily and joyously as if the marquis had been absent a year; and he -ran to the kitchen to bring with his own hands a bowl of steaming punch, -concocted of wine and aromatic herbs--a cunningly compounded and -pleasant beverage of which he jealously guarded the secret, and to which -he attributed his old master's excellent health and lusty appearance. - -Honest Sylvain embraced his son and greeted his daughter affectionately, -pressed his _astrologer's_ hand, drank the cordial which his faithful -retainer offered him, and, having thus gratified his whole family, -thrust his long legs almost into the fire, placed a small round table by -his side, and requested Lucilio to read certain papers which he had -brought, while Mario translated them aloud as best he could. - -The papers were written in Spanish, in the shape of notes collected for -a memorial, and were held together by a strap. They bore no address, nor -seal, nor signature. The notes were a series of alleged facts, official -or officious, concerning the state of feeling in France; concerning the -disposition, presumed or discovered by stealth, of divers individuals of -more or less consequence from a Spanish standpoint; and concerning -public opinion with respect to the policy of Spain; in a word, a species -of diplomatic production, very well done, although unfinished, and -partly in the shape of a rough draft. - -It was very clear that D'Alvimar, whose voluntary seclusion and constant -writing during the few days of his sojourn at Briantes they had not been -able to understand, had been constantly reporting to some prince, -minister or patron, the results of a secret mission; that he was -exceedingly hostile to France, and overflowing with aversion and disdain -for the Frenchmen of all classes with whom he had come in contact. - -His minute criticism was not devoid of wit, nor, consequently, of -interest. D'Alvimar had a keen intellect, and was a specious reasoner. -In default of connections as exalted and as intimate as he might have -desired in the interests of his fortune and of the importance of his -rôle, he was very skilful in making the most of trivial incidents, and -in interpreting a word he had surprised or caught on the wing: a chance -remark, a rumor, a reflection let fall by anybody, wherever he happened -to be--everything was turned to some use by him; and one could see in -that treacherous yet trivial labor the irresistible impulse and the -secret gratification of a heart overflowing with bitterness, envy and -distress. - -Lucilio, who divined at the first word the marquis's deep interest in -this discovery, turned over the last leaves, and soon found this one, -which Mario translated fluently, almost without hesitation, turning his -beautiful eyes to the beautiful eyes of his teacher at the end of each -sentence, to make sure before continuing that he had made no mistake: - -"As to the Pr---- de C----é, I shall find a way to see him personally; -I have received certain information from an intelligent and intriguing -priest, which may be of use. - -"Remember the name of Poulain, rector of Briantes. He is from Bourges -and knows many things, notably concerning the said prince, who is very -greedy of money and exceedingly incapable in respect to politics; but he -will go where ambition drives him. He can be led on by great hopes, and -used as the Guises were, for he has nothing of Condé but the name, and -is afraid of everybody and everything. - -"He is for that reason more difficult to catch than he appears. -Personally he amounts to nothing. His name is still a host in itself. In -the hope of becoming king, he is prepared to give many pledges to the -most holy I----, reserving the right to retract if his interest demands -it. It is said that he would not shrink from making way with the k---- -and his brother, and that, if need were, one could strike high and hard -by means of that paltry mind and that nerveless arm. - -"If in your opinion it is wise to encourage him in this ambition, advise -your most humble----" - -"Good! good!" cried the marquis. "Here we have the wherewithal to make -trouble between our friend Poulain and monsieur le prince, and between -them both and the memory of dear Monsieur d'Alvimar. God knows that my -choice would be to let that dead man rest in peace; but if they threaten -to avenge him, we will let the kind friends who pity him know him as he -really was." - -"That is all very well," said pretty Madame de Beuvre, "on condition -that you can prove that these notes were written by his hand." - -"True," replied the marquis, "without that they will not help us. But -doubtless Guillaume will be able to provide us with a letter signed by -him." - -"That is probable; and you must look to it at once, my dear marquis!" - -"In that case," said the marquis, kissing her hand as he wished her -good-night--for she had risen to retire--"in that case I will return to -Guillaume's to-morrow; meanwhile let us be very careful of our proofs -and our weapons." - -On waking the next morning, the marquis found Lucilio in his room, who -handed him a sheet upon which he had written something for him to read. - -The poor fellow proposed that he should go away for a time, in order -that the storm which threatened them both might not burst upon his -generous friend more quickly because of his presence. - -"No, no!" cried Bois-Doré, deeply touched; "surely you will not wound -me to the heart by leaving me! The danger is postponed, that is clear -enough to all of us; and Monsieur d'Alvimar's notes make me feel -perfectly secure so far as I am concerned. As for yourself, rest assured -that you have nothing to fear from the prince, having so accurately -announced the favorite's death. Moreover, whatever risk you may run by -remaining here, I think that it would be much greater elsewhere, and -only in this province can I protect you effectively or conceal you, as -circumstances require. Let us not worry about the unknown; and if you -are afraid of adding to the embarrassment of my position, think of -this--that without you, Mario's education is a hopeless failure. Think -of the service you render me by transforming a lovable child into a man -of brain and heart, and you will realize that neither my fortune nor my -life can pay my debt to you, for both together are not equivalent to the -learning and virtue which we owe to you." - -Having, not without difficulty, extorted from his friend a promise not -to leave Briantes without his assent, the marquis was about to start for -Ars once more, when Guillaume arrived with Monsieur Robin de Coulogne, -the latter greatly surprised by what his farmer Faraudet had told him -that morning, the former surprised that he had not received a visit from -the marquis during the evening, as his servants had led him to expect. - -Bois-Doré made his confession and described faithfully the vision he -had had at Brilbault, declaring, however, that, until the appearance of -D'Alvimar's profile on the wall, he would have sworn that he had not -dreamed of the uproar and the shadows, which might well have been -perfectly real. - -He had the mortification of detecting an incredulous smile on the faces -of his two auditors; but when he had told them what had happened -previously at the gardener's cottage, and had shown them D'Alvimar's -notes, his friends became grave and attentive once more. - -"Cousin," said Guillaume, "so far as these notes are concerned, it will -be easy for me to authenticate them and to furnish you with specimens of -Monsieur d'Alvimar's handwriting and his signature. Meanwhile, I assure -you that these pages are in his hand. Put them with your own papers and -wait, before announcing the traitor's death, until you are officially -called to account therefor." - -Such was not Monsieur Robin's advice. He criticised the policy of -keeping the fact secret, the precautions taken to conceal the body, and -the prolongation of the mystery at a time when everybody in the -neighborhood was prepossessed in favor of the lovely Mario, touched by -the story of his adventures, and disposed to curse the cowardly -assassins of his father. - -Bois-Doré would have followed this advice instantly, except for his -unwillingness to displease Guillaume, who persisted in his first -opinion. - -"My dear neighbor," he said, "I would come over to your views and -retract the advice I have given the marquis, except for one thought -which has occurred to me, and which I beg you to weigh seriously; it is -this: that it is unnecessary for the marquis to accuse himself of -killing a man who may not be dead at all." - -Messieurs Robin and Bois-Doré made a gesture of surprise, and Guillaume -continued: - -"I have two strong reasons for thinking and saying this: the first is -that a man was carried away from La Caille-Bottée's garden, who, -although run through by a lusty sword-thrust, may not have breathed his -last; the second is that our marquis, whose courage is not of the sort -that anyone can doubt, recognized his enemy's face at Brilbault." - -Monsieur Robin reflected in silence; Bois-Doré collected his memories -of the preceding night, and tried to disentangle them from the -bewilderment that had then taken possession of him; then he said: - -"If Monsieur d'Alvimar is dead, he did not die on the field of battle at -La Rochaille, nor at the gardener's cottage, but at Brilbault, no later -than last evening. He died in I know not what strange and brutal -company, but attended by a priest who may have been Monsieur Poulain, -and by a servant who must have been old Sancho. There was nothing in the -confused shadows which I saw to contradict these suppositions, and the -one thing that I saw most clearly and distinctly was a crucifix as -sharply outlined as the cross on an escutcheon, and under the right -branch of that crucifix the emaciated, fleshless face of Monsieur -d'Alvimar. The features seemed somewhat agitated at first, while a voice -repeated the prayers for the dying; faint groans, which I had heard -throughout the revel, I continued to hear during the prayer. Then the -groans ceased, the face became like stone; you would have said that the -lines were petrified on the wall which showed me their reflection. The -head was no longer bent forward but thrown back, and then----" - -"Then what?" said Guillaume. - -"Then," said the marquis, ingenuously, "I became weak and idiotic, and I -fled to avoid seeing anything more." - -"Well," said Monsieur Robin, "however it may be, and whatever may be -there, we will go to examine that hovel and ransack it from roof to -cellar, if need be, to see what it conceals, and what sort of people it -shelters." - -Guillaume advised waiting until nightfall, and taking all manner of -precautions, in order to make sure of discovering the object of these -mysterious meetings. - -Faraudet had given Monsieur Robin precise information as to the hour at -which the tumult began, and the moment that it became certain that those -strange noises were not a pure product of the imagination of terrified -peasants, it was impossible not to see, in their regularity and their -persistent recurrence, a deliberately adopted plan to spread terror -abroad and turn it to advantage in one direction or another. - -Monsieur Robin observed moreover that, according to the farmer, this -performance had been going on at Brilbault only about two months, that -is to say since the time fixed by Guillaume and the marquis as the -period of D'Alvimar's death. - -"All this," he said, "reminds me that, on the day that I arrived at -Coudray, last week, I met at several places on the road, at varying -intervals, groups of evil-appearing people, who did not look like -peasants or bourgeois or soldiers, and whom I was surprised not to -recognize. Ascertain from your servants whether they have not met -similar folk in your neighborhood of late." - -Several servants were summoned. Bois-Doré's and Guillaume's agreed in -saying that, within a few weeks, they had seen many suspicious persons -prowling about in the woods and the unfrequented roads of La Varenne, -and that they had wondered how those strangers could earn a living in -such lonely regions. - -Thereupon they remembered numerous thefts that had been committed in -farm-houses and barnyards roundabout; and lastly, La Flèche's face had -reappeared, with other outlandish faces, at fairs and markets in the -towns nearby. At all events they believed that they could swear that a -certain mountebank, an irrepressible chatterer, dressed in various -disguises, was the same fellow who had prowled about between Briantes -and La Motte-Seuilly for several days, at the time of Mario's recovery. - -The result of all this information was that they concluded that they had -to deal with the most suspicious and artful genus of vagrants and -bandits, and they took measures to obtain possession of their secret -without giving the alarm. - -They agreed to separate at once; for it was very possible that the -wretches might have noticed the marquis's visit to Brilbault, and that -they had spies on the watch behind the bushes on all the roads. - -Guillaume was to return home, take a considerable number of his -servants, and pretend to start for Bourges. - -Monsieur Robin was to remain at Coudray with his people until the -appointed hour. - -Bois-Doré was to lie in ambush in the direction of Thevet, Jovelin -toward Lourouer. - - - - - -XLVIII - - -At nightfall, the servants and vassals, led by these four gentlemen, -were to form a large circle around Brilbault and close in rapidly, as in -a _battue_ of wolves, each man reckoning the time required to reach the -ruin from his starting-point, so that they might all arrive at the time -fixed for investing it at close quarters. - -That time was ten o'clock. Until then they were to move silently and -keep out of sight as far as possible; they were to allow anyone to pass -who was going toward Brilbault, but, after the stroke of ten, they were -to arrest anyone who should attempt to leave the ruin. - -They were strictly forbidden to kill or wound anyone unless they were -seriously attacked, the main object being to take prisoners and obtain -information. - -It was also agreed that each man should start alone from his first -position, and the positions were assigned in accordance with the minute -strategic knowledge of the country possessed by Guillaume and the -marquis. - -Thus, Guillaume and his men were to separate at La Berthenoux, and -scatter along the Igneraie. Monsieur Robin was to go alone to his -farmer's, while his men were to take a score of different paths from -Coudray to Brilbault, taking care to cover the whole Saint-Chartier -line. - -Monsieur de Bois-Doré, meanwhile, was to ride to Montlevic, and thence -start alone for the rendezvous, after scattering his escort in the same -manner, in order to avoid all suspicion on the part of anyone who might -be watching his movements. - -When all these arrangements were made, they could count upon bringing -into the field about a hundred stout and cautious men, upon whom they -could rely. Bois-Doré alone supplied almost fifty, and still left half -a score of trusty fellows to guard the château and his lovely guest -Lauriane. - -In order that the spies who were presumed to be watching him might not -suspect him of any design upon Brilbault, the marquis took Mario with -him to the château of Montlevic, to pay a visit to his youthful -neighbors. - -The D'Orsannes were grandsons of Antoine d'Orsanne, who was -lieutenant-general of Berry and a Calvinist. - -The marquis and Mario passed an hour there; after which Bois-Doré told -Aristandre to take the child back to Briantes, while he remounted his -horse to ride alone to Etalié, a hamlet on the road from La Châtre to -Thevet, at the top of a hill called Le Terrier. - -When Mario, who was puzzled by all these precautions, asked leave to -accompany him, he replied that he was going to sup with Guillaume d'Ars, -and that he would return early. - -The child sighed as he mounted his little horse, for he had a feeling -that something was about to happen, and, by dint of listening to the -conversation of gentlemen, the pretty peasant of the Pyrenees had soon -become a gentleman himself, in the romantic and chivalrous sense still -attributed to that title by the excellent marquis. - -Everyone knows how marvellously the child modifies and transforms -himself to adjust himself to the environment to which he is -transplanted. Mario was already dreaming of noble feats of arms, running -giants through and rescuing captive damsels. - -He tried to insist after his manner, obeying without a murmur, but -fastening his loving and persuasive eyes upon the old man, who adored -him. - -"No, my dear count," replied Bois-Doré, who understood perfectly his -silent prayer; "I cannot leave alone in my château at night the sweet -girl who has been placed in my care. Remember that she is your sister -and your lady, and that, when I am compelled to be absent, your place is -beside her, to serve her, to divert her and, if need be, to defend her." - -Mario was vanquished by this exaggerated flattery, and, spurring his -horse, rode away toward Briantes at a gallop. - -Aristandre followed him, and was to return to the marquis as soon as he -had escorted the child back to the château. - -The night, like the preceding one, was decidedly mild for the season. -The sky, sometimes overcast, sometimes swept clear by gusts of warm air, -was very dark when the young horseman and his attendant galloped into -the ravine and rode under the venerable trees of the village. - -As they rapidly ascended one of the narrow undulating roads, lined with -hedges, which served the purposes of streets between the thirty or forty -_firesides_ of which the village consisted, Mario's horse, which was -leading, shied and snorted with terror. - -"What is that?" said the child, sitting like a rock in his saddle. "A -drunken man asleep in the road? Pick him up, Aristandre, and take him to -his family." - -"Monsieur le comte," replied the coachman, who had instantly dismounted, -"if he is drunk, you might say he is dead drunk, for he doesn't move any -more than a stone." - -"Shall I help you?" said the child, dismounting. - -He went nearer and tried to distinguish the features of the man, who -answered none of Aristandre's questions. - -"He may belong hereabout," said the coachman with his accustomed -stolidity; "I don't know him; but what I do know is that he is dead or -the next thing to it." - -"Dead!" cried the child; "right here, in the middle of the village! and -no one thinks of helping him!" - -He ran to the nearest house and found it empty; the fire was burning -brightly, and the tea-kettle, abandoned to its fate, was sputtering in -the ashes; the settle was upset across the room. - -Mario called in vain, no one answered. - -He was about to run to another house, for they were separated from one -another by large enclosures thickly planted with trees, when the report -of firearms and strange rumbling noises, drowning the clatter of his -horse's hoofs on the stones, made him jump and abruptly draw rein. - -"Do you hear, monsieur le comte?" cried Aristandre, who had carried the -body to the side of the road, and had remounted to join his young -master; "that comes from the château, and there's something strange -going on there, for sure!" - -"Let us hurry!" said Mario, urging his steed to a gallop. "If it's a -fête, they are making a great noise over it!" - -"Wait! wait!" cried the coachman, doubling his speed to stop Mario's -horse; "that is no fête! There wouldn't be a fête at the château -without you and monsieur le marquis. They are fighting! Do you hear how -they are yelling and cursing? And see, there's another dead man, or a -horribly wounded Christian, at the foot of the wall! Fly, monsieur; -hide, for the love of God! I will go to see what the matter is, and come -back and tell you." - -"You are laughing at me!" cried Mario, tearing himself free; "hide, when -they are attacking my father's château? What about my Lauriane? let us -hasten to her defence!" - -He galloped across the drawbridge, which was lowered, a most -extraordinary circumstance after nightfall. - -By the light of a stack of straw which was blazing merrily in front of -the farm buildings, Mario obtained a confused view of a most -incomprehensible scene. - -The marquis's retainers were engaged in a hand-to-hand conflict with a -numerous band of horned, hairy, shiny creatures, "in every respect more -like devils than men."--Musket or pistol shots rang out from time to -time, but it was not a battle according to rule; it was a mêlée, -following a sudden and unfortunate surprise. They saw frantic groups -writhe and struggle for an instant, then suddenly disappear, when the -flame of the burning straw was obscured by dense clouds of smoke. - -The coachman held Mario in his arms, so that he could not rush into the -fray. He struggled in vain, and wept with rage. - -At last he was forced to listen to reason. - -"You see, monsieur," said honest Aristandre, "you prevent me from going -and taking a hand yonder! And yet my fist is worth four of an ordinary -man's. But the devil could not make me let go my hold of you, for I am -responsible for you; so I won't do it until you swear that you will keep -quiet." - -"Go then," replied Mario, "I swear it." - -"But if you stay here, some straggler may see you. Come, I'll hide you -in the garden." - -And, without awaiting the child's consent, the coachman lifted him from -his horse and carried him into the garden, the gate of which was at the -left, not far from the entrance tower. He locked him in there, and ran -off to throw himself into the mêlée. - -Dull and uninteresting as we know mere descriptions of locality to be, -we are compelled, in order to enable the reader to understand what -follows, to remind him of the general arrangement of the small estate of -Briantes. The recollection of many venerable country houses, built upon -the same plan, and still existing with slight changes, will assist him -to form an idea of the one with which we are here concerned. - -I will suppose that we enter by the drawbridge which spans the outer -moat; let us pause a moment at that point. - -The _sarrasine_ is raised. Let us examine this system of defence. - -The _orgue_, or _sarrasine_, or, as it was then called, the -_sarracinesque_, was a sort of portcullis, less expensive and less heavy -than the iron portcullis. It consisted of a series of movable stakes, -independent of one another, and moving up and down, like the portcullis, -in the archway of the gate-tower. More time was required to set in -motion the mechanism of the _sarrasine_ than that of the ordinary -portcullis made in a single piece; but it had this advantage, that a -single person, stationed in the _salle de manœuvre_, or room from which -it was worked, could, if need were, raise one of the stakes and admit a -fugitive, without making too large an opening of which the besiegers -could avail themselves. - -This room was a sort of corridor inside the gate-tower and above the -arch, with openings which enabled those on guard there to look down upon -whoever might attempt to go in or out. These openings also enabled them -to fire or hurl projectiles on the besiegers, when they had succeeded in -crossing the moat and destroying the _sarrasine_, and the battle was -renewed under the archway. - -This room communicated with the _moucharabi_, a low, crenellated, -_mascherolé_ gallery, which crowned the arch of the portcullis on the -outer face of the tower. From that point bullets and stones could be -rained upon the enemy to prevent their destroying the _sarrasine_. - -The gate-tower of Briantes, which contained these defensive appliances, -was a heavy oval mass, built on the edge of the moat. It was called the -tower of the _huis_, to distinguish it from the _huisset_, of which we -shall speak in a moment. The _huis_, or gate, opened into the immense -enclosure which contained the farm buildings, the dove-cote, the -heron-yard, the mall, etc., and which was invariably called the -_basse-cour_, because it was always on a lower level than the courtyard. - -On our left is the high garden wall, pierced at regular intervals with -narrow loopholes, from which, in case of surprise, the enemy could be -harassed after making themselves masters of the _basse-cour_. - -A paved road ran all the way along this wall to the second line of -defences, where the second moat, supplied with water by the little -stream, extended to the pond at the end of the courtyard. - -Over this moat, bordered by its turfed counterscarp, was thrown the -stationary bridge, a bridge built of stone, and very old, as indicated -by the sharp angle which it made with the tower at its inner end. - -This was customary in the Middle Ages. Some antiquaries explain the -custom by pointing out that the archers in the assaulting party, when -they raised their arms to fire, laid their sides open to the fire of the -besieged. Others tell us that this angle broke the force of an assault -very materially. It matters little. - -The tower of the _huisset_ stood between this stationary bridge and the -courtyard. It contained a small iron portcullis and stout oaken gates -studded with nails with enormous heads. - -This tower formed, with the moat, the only defence of the manor, -properly so-called. - -When he gratified his own tastes by razing the donjon of his fathers and -replacing it by the pavilion called the _grand'maison_, the marquis had -said to himself, and justly, that, whether in the shape of a castle or a -villa, his country house would not hold out an hour against an attack -with cannon. But, against the paltry means of attack which bandits or -hostile neighbors could command, the broad, deep moat filled with a -swiftly-running stream, the little falconets placed on each side of the -_huisset_, and the loopholes cut diagonally in the wall on the -_basse-cour_ or farmyard side, were capable of holding out a -considerable time. As a matter of comfort and convenience rather than of -prudence, the manor was always well supplied with provisions and forage. - -Let us add that walls and moats, always kept in perfect repair, enclosed -the whole domain--even the garden--and that, if Aristandre had taken -time for reflection, he would have carried Mario out of the farmyard, -into the village, and not into the garden, which was as likely to become -a prison for him as a place of safety. - -But one never thinks of everything, and Aristandre never dreamed that -the enemy could not be repelled with a turn of the hand. - -The honest fellow was not noted for vividness of imagination; it was -fortunate for him that he did not allow himself to be excited by the -fantastic and truly frightful figures which were presented to his -astonished eyes. Being as credulous as other men, he took counsel with -himself as he ran, but without slackening his headlong pace; and, when -he had struck down one or two of them, he made the philosophical -reflection that they were _canaille_, nothing more. - -Mario, with his face pressed against the garden gate, throbbing with -ardor and excitement soon lost sight of him. - -The burning mill had fallen in; the fighting continued during the -darkness; the child could follow only with his ears the confused sounds -of the changing scenes of the action. - -He judged that the arrival of the sturdy and intrepid Aristandre revived -the courage of the defenders, but after a few moments of uncertainty, -which seemed to him like centuries, he thought that the assailants must -be gaining ground, for the shouts and scuffling receded to the second -bridge, and, after a moment of ghastly silence, he heard a pistol shot -and the splash of a body falling into the stream. - -A few seconds later the portcullis of the _huisset_ fell with a great -crash, and a volley from the falconets forced the party that had rushed -upon the bridge to fall back with horrible imprecations. - -One act of this incomprehensible drama was finished; the besieged had -been driven back and confined in the courtyard; the invaders were -masters of the _basse-cour_. - -Mario was alone; Aristandre was probably dead, since he abandoned him in -the midst or at least within reach of enemies who might burst into the -garden at any moment by breaking down the gate, and take him prisoner. - -And there was no means of escape for him except to scale that gate at -the risk of falling into the hands of those demons! There was no exit -from the garden except into the _basse-cour_; it had no direct -communication of any sort with the château. - -Mario was afraid; and then, too, the thought of the death of Aristandre, -and, perhaps, of other faithful servants equally dear to him, brought -tears to his eyes. Even his poor little horse, whom he had left at the -entrance to the _basse-cour_, with the reins on his neck, came into his -mind and added to his distress. - -Lauriane and Mercedes were safe, doubtless, and there were still many -defenders about them, for the deathly silence in the direction of the -village indicated that men and beasts had taken refuge within the -enclosure at the outset, in order to receive the enemy under shelter of -the walls. It was the custom of the period that, at the slightest alarm, -vassals should repair to the seignioral château at once, to seek and -offer aid. They always took their families and cattle with them. - -"But if Lauriane and my good Moor have any idea that I am here," thought -poor Mario, "how worried they will be about me! Let us hope that they -don't suspect that I have returned! And dear old Adamas--I am sure he is -like a madman! If only they haven't taken him prisoner!" - -His tears flowed silently; crouching in a clump of trimmed yews, he -dared not show himself at the gate, where he might be discovered by the -enemy, nor go farther away and lose sight of what he could still see of -the scene of confusion being enacted in the _basse-cour_. - -He heard the howls of those besiegers who were wounded by the shot from -the falconets. They had been taken to the farmhouse, and there were -evidently wounded and dying men there belonging to the besieged force as -well, for Mario could distinguish voices that seemed to be exchanging -reproaches and threats. But it was all very vague; it was a considerable -distance from the garden to the farm-house; moreover, the little stream, -swollen by the winter rains, was making a deal of noise. - -The besieged had opened the gates and sluices of the pond to increase -the depth of water in the moat and make it flow more swiftly. - -A reddish gleam appeared above the door of the château; doubtless a -fire had been lighted in the courtyard, so that they could see one -another, reckon up their fighting strength and prepare their defence. -The besiegers' fire had ceased to cast more than a sort of ruddy -reflection, by which Mario could see many indistinct shadows moving -rapidly to and fro. - -Suddenly he heard footsteps and voices approaching him, and thought that -they were coming to explore the garden. - -He kept perfectly still and saw two fantastically arrayed individuals -pass the gate, on the outer side, and go toward the entrance tower. - -He held his breath and succeeded in overhearing this fragment of -dialogue: - -"The infernal curs will not arrive before him!" - -"So much the better I our share will be all the bigger!" - -"Idiots, to think that you alone can capture----" - - - - -XLIX - - -The voices died away, but Mario had recognized them. They were the -voices of La Flèche and old Sancho. - -His courage suddenly returned, although there was nothing encouraging in -that discovery. - -It had been impossible to keep Mario long in ignorance of the affair of -La Rochaille, and he fully realized that his father's murderer, -D'Alvimar's fidus Achates, was thenceforth the deadliest foe of the name -of Bois-Doré; but La Flèche's complicity in this bold stroke led the -child to hope that Sancho's auxiliaries were the band of gypsies who had -been his companions in misery. - -He reflected, justly enough, that those vagrants had in all probability -joined forces with other more desperate rascals; but even so, an attack -of that sort seemed to him much less to be dreaded than a regular raid -organized by the provincial authorities, such as they had had reason to -fear; and for a moment he had an idea of trying to win over La Flèche, -if he could obtain an interview with him alone. But his distrust -returned when he remembered the brutal and threatening air with which -the gypsy had talked with him on that same spot months before. - -Thereupon he began to reflect on the words he had just heard. He felt -that he needed all his faculties in order to understand them and take -advantage of them at need. - -Doubtless the assailants expected reinforcements, whose arrival was -delayed too long to suit Sancho. "They will not arrive before him!"--The -_him_ could be no other than the marquis, whose return they -dreaded.--"So much the better, our share will be all the bigger!" -indicated that La Flèche was impelled by the hope of pillage. "Idiots, -to think that you alone can capture"--the château presumably--was a -confession of the inability of the assailants to maintain a siege of the -manor with any chance of success. - -In short, Mario, who had seen the besmeared, masked, ghastly, grotesque -faces,--disguises assumed by the gypsies in all probability to terrify -the peasants of the village and the farm,--and who, despite his courage, -had been himself terrified by them, was immensely relieved when he found -that he had to do with villains of flesh and blood, rather than with -supernatural creatures and mysterious dangers. - -Being unable to do anything for the moment except remain in hiding, he -waited until the voices and footsteps had died away, before leaving the -gate himself to seek shelter from the cold night air in one of the -little structures in the garden. - -He thought, with good reason, that the labyrinth, with all the windings -of which he was so familiar, would enable him to elude any possible -pursuit for some time, and he entered it, bending his steps without -hesitation toward the little cottage which was metaphorically called the -_Palace of Astrée_. - -He was no sooner inside than he fancied that he heard footsteps on the -gravel of the circular path. - -He listened. - -"It is either the wind blowing the dry leaves about," he thought, "or -some creature from the farm coming here for shelter. But, in that case, -the garden gate must be open! If it is, I am lost! O God! have pity on -me!" - -The noise was so faint, however, that Mario made bold to look out -through the curtain of ivy which covered the walls of his retreat, and -he saw a tiny person who was looking all about, in apparent uncertainty, -as if seeking refuge in the same place. - -Mario had not had time to close the door of the cottage behind him; the -small being entered, and said in a low voice: - -"Are you here, Mario?" - -"Why, is it you, Pilar?" said the child, with an involuntary thrill of -pleasure, as he recognized his former little companion, whom he had -believed to be dead. - -But he added sadly: - -"Are you looking for me, in order to betray me?" - -"No, no, Mario!" she replied. "I want to run away from La Flèche. Save -me, my Mario, for I am too unhappy with that accursed man!" - -"But how can I save you, when I do not even know how to save -myself?--Either go away from here, or else stay here without me, my poor -Pilar; for those bandits, when they come to look for you, will find me -too." - -"No, no; La Flèche thinks that he left me over yonder with the dead -man!" - -"What dead man?" - -"They called him D'Alvimar. He died the other night, and they buried him -this morning." - -"You are dreaming--or else I don't understand. No matter! You ran away?" - -"Yes; I knew that they were coming here to take your château and your -treasure; I climbed out of a little bit of a window, like a cat, and I -followed them at a distance. I hoped they would kill La Flèche and -those wicked villains, who have never had any pity on me." - -"What villains?" - -"The trick-playing gypsies whom you know, and many others whom you don't -know, who have joined them. They made me suffer at Brilbault, I tell -you!" - -"Where is Brilbault? Isn't it an old ruin near----" - -"I don't know. I never went out. They roamed about all day and left me -with the wounded man, who was always dying, and his old servant, who -hated me because he said I was the one who brought monsieur bad luck and -prevented him from getting well. I would have liked to have him die -sooner; for I hated them, too, the vile Spaniards! and I made lots of -spells against them. At last the youngest one died, in the midst of -those wild men, who drank and sang and yelled all night, and prevented -me from sleeping. So I am sick. I am feverish all the time. Perhaps -that's lucky for me, because it keeps me from being hungry." - -"My poor girl, here is all the money I have about me. If you succeed in -escaping, it will be of some use to you; but, although I don't in the -least understand what you tell me, it seems to me that you were crazy to -come here instead of going far away from La Flèche. It makes me afraid -that you are acting in concert with him to----" - -"No, no, Mario! keep your money! and, if you think that I mean to betray -you, go and hide somewhere else; I won't follow you. I am not a wicked -girl to you, Mario. You are the only person in the whole world that I -love! I came here thinking that, while they were fighting, I might go -into the château and stay with you. But your peasants were too -frightened; some of them were killed, the others fled into your great -courtyard. Your servants defended themselves bravely; but they weren't -the strongest! I was hidden under some boards on the inside of the -garden wall. I could see everything through a little crack. I saw you -come into the courtyard on your horse: I saw a tall man lock you in -here. I didn't recognize you right off, because of your fine clothes; -but when you started to come to this little house and I saw you walk, I -knew your gait, and I followed you." - -"And now what are we going to do? Play at hide and seek, as well as we -can, in this garden, where they will certainly come and search?" - -"What do you suppose they will come into a garden for? They know very -well that there's no fruit to steal in winter. Besides the villains have -already found plenty to eat and drink in the big buildings yonder. -That's the farm, isn't it? I know well enough what they do when they get -into a house that isn't defended. I don't need to see them, I tell you! -They kill the cattle and prepare the spit; they knock in the heads of -wine casks; they burst open closets; they fill their pockets, their -wallets and their bellies. In an hour, they will all be mad, they will -fight among themselves and maim each other. Ah! if your stupid servant -hadn't locked us in here, it wouldn't be hard to escape! But of course -there must be a hole that we can crawl through somewhere in this garden -wall! I am a bit of a creature and you are not stout. Sometimes you can -reach the top of a wall by climbing a tree. Do you know how to climb and -jump, Mario?" - -"Yes, indeed; but I know that there isn't any hole or any tree that will -help us. There's the pond at the end of the courtyard, but I don't know -how to swim as yet. It has been so cold ever since I have been here that -they couldn't teach me. There's a little boat that they could send us -from the château if they knew we were here. But how are we to make them -see us? it is too dark; and just listen! the water makes too much noise -running over the dam! Ah! my poor Aristandre must be taken or dead, -since----" - -"No, my dear little count of the good Lord!" said a hoarse voice -outside, trying to speak low; "Aristandre is here, looking for you and -listening to you." - -"Ah! my dear charioteer!" cried Mario, throwing his arms around the -great head which was thrust through the low round window of the little -cottage. "Is it really you! But how wet you are! _Mon Dieu_! is it -blood?" - -"No, it's water, thank God!" replied Aristandre, "cold water! But I -didn't drink any of it, luckily for me! I was pushed, pushed, carried -onto the stone bridge in spite of myself, by our devils of peasants as -they fell back on the courtyard. I saw that I was going to be forced -into the courtyard with them, and then I couldn't come out again to find -you. So I fired my last pistol shot and jumped into the stream. Devilish -stream! I thought I never should get out of it, especially as they fired -on me from the château, taking me for an enemy. However, here I am! I -have been looking for you for a quarter of an hour; I had an idea that -you would be in the _affinoire_"--that was Aristandre's name for the -labyrinth--"but, although I've known it ten years, I don't know how to -find my way in it yet. Come! we must get away from here. Let us try! You -must do just as I say. But who in the devil have you there?" - -"Someone whom you must save with me, an unfortunate little girl." - -"From the village? Faith! never mind, we will save her if we can. You -first! I am going to see what is happening in the _basse-cour_; do you -stay here and talk low." - -Aristandre returned in a few moments. He seemed troubled. - -"It is no easy matter to go away," he said to the children. "Ah! those -villagers! how they must have bungled to let the farm be taken! And, now -that the hounds are drinking themselves stupid, if they should make a -sortie from the château, they could kill them like swine to the last -man! They think that they have demons to deal with, but I say that they -are human beings in disguise, pure _canaille_! Just hear them yell and -sing!" - -"Well, let us make the most of their carousing," said Mario; "let us -cross yonder corner of the _basse-cour_, where there seems to be no one, -and run to the tower of the _huis_." - -"Oh! the deuce! to be sure! But the beggars have locked themselves in! -They know well enough that monsieur le marquis may come during the -night, and he will have to lay siege to his own tower." - -"Yes," cried Mario, "that is why I saw Sancho go in that direction with -La Flèche." - -"Sancho? La Flèche? you recognized them? Ah! I have a mind to go by -myself and fall upon those illustrious captains!" - -"No, no!" said Pilar, "they are stronger and wickeder than you think!" - -"But, if they have simply locked the gate, we can open it," said Mario, -whose mind worked more quickly than the coachman's. "And if they have -left anybody on guard there, why between us, Aristandre, we can try to -kill them so that we can pass. Do you hesitate? We must do it, you see, -my friend. We must hurry and warn my father. If we don't, our people -here will allow the château to be taken, they are so terrified. When -the villains have finished gorging themselves, they will try to set it -on fire. Who knows what may happen? Come, come, coachman, my good -fellow," added the child, drawing his little rapier, "take a stake, a -club, a tree, no matter what, and let us go!" - -"Stay, stay, my dear little master!" rejoined Aristandre, "there are -some tools here; let me look. Good! I have a shovel; no! a spade! I like -that better! Now, I am not afraid of any man! But, listen to me; do you -know where your papa is?" - -"No! you must take me to him." - -"If I come out all right, yes; if not, you will have to go all alone. Do -you know where Etalié is?" - -"Yes, I have been there. I know the way." - -"Do you know the _Geault-Rouge_ inn?" - -"The _Coq-Rouge_? Yes, I have been there twice. It isn't hard to find, -it's the only house in the place. Well?" - -"Your papa will be there until ten o'clock. If you arrive too late, go -to Brilbault; he will be there." - -"Brilbault at the foot of Coudray hill?" - -"Yes. He will be there with his people. It's a long way; you will never -be able to do it on foot!" - -"I will go straight to Brilbault," said Pilar. "I know the way; I have -just come from there!" - -"Yes," said the coachman; "go, little one; you can warn Monsieur Robin. -Do you know him? You don't belong about here, do you?" - -"No matter, I will find him." - -"Or Monsieur d'Ars; will you remember?" - -"I know him, I saw him once." - -"Off we go, then! Ah! Monsieur Mario, if I could only lay my hand on -your horse! you could go faster and not kill yourself running." - -"I know how to run," said Mario; "don't think about the horse, it is out -of the question." - -"One minute more," continued Aristandre, "and pay attention. The -drawbridge is raised; you know how to drop it, don't you? It doesn't -weigh much." - -"That's very easy!" - -"But the _sarrasine_ is down! But don't be alarmed; I will go up into -the room where we work it. If there's anybody there, so much the worse -for them; I'll strike and kill, and raise one of the stakes! Don't lose -time by waiting for me. Pass through, steal away, fly! If the stake -falls on the girl, so much the worse for her; you cannot help it, nor I. -God guard you! Keep on running, I will overtake you." - -"But, if you are----" - -Mario stopped short; his heart sank. - -"If I am laid out, you mean? Well, it will be of no use for you to -grieve, it will not help matters. If you stop to pity me, you will lose -your head and your legs! You must think of nothing but running." - -"No, my friend, your risk is too great; let us remain concealed here." - -"And suppose, while we are hiding, they burn up Madame Lauriane, your -Mercedes, Adamas--and my poor carriage horses in the stable yonder! -Besides--Look you, I am going alone. When the road is clear you can -pass." - -"Come on! come on!" said Mario. "Everything for Lauriane and Mercedes!" - -He was about to rush out of the garden, when Pilar detained him. - -"Remember that other villains are to come here--I know it. If you meet -them, hide carefully, for your gold buttons gleam in the darkness like -diamonds, and they will kill you just to get your clothes." - -"I have an idea!" exclaimed Mario. "I will put on my gypsy rags, which -are right here." - -The reader will remember the rustic, sentimental and philosophic trophy, -which had been suspended in the cottage with great pomp. - -Mario hastily took it down, and in two minutes, having laid aside silk, -velvet and lace, he was dressed in his former costume; whereupon they -proceeded to the _huis_, walking noiselessly and without speaking. - -They had only about fifty paces to walks along the wall outside the -garden. They walked that distance, without hindrance at least, if not -without danger, to the sound of loud laughter, shrieks, blasphemies and -hoarse singing from the farm-house. - -The tower of the _huis_ was dark and silent. Aristandre placed the two -children close to the _sarrasine_, Mario in front, almost touching the -first stake at the left. Then he took his hand and placed it on the ring -of the chain which held the drawbridge in the air. There was nothing for -him to do but to take that ring from the hook set in the wall. - -They did not venture to exchange another word. All about them, on the -staircase, over their heads, there might be, there undoubtedly were, -sentinels, sleeping or careless. - -Mario could not press the coachman's hand in his own, for his were -clinging to the detached ring and the dragging chain. He put his lips to -that rough hand and hurriedly imprinted a silent kiss upon it; perhaps -it was an eternal farewell. - -Aristandre, deeply moved, abruptly withdrew his great paw, none the -less, as if to say: "Nonsense! don't think of anything but yourself;" -and, crossing himself fervently in the darkness, he resolutely ascended -the short steep staircase to the _salle de manœuvre_. - -"Who goes there?" cried a deep voice which Mario instantly recognized as -Sancho's. - -And as the coachman continued to ascend and approached the left side of -the gallery, the voice added: - -"Will you answer, blockhead? Are you drunk? Answer, or I fire on you!" - -In an instant there was a report; but the stake was raised, Mario let go -the chain, darted across the bridge, and fled without looking back. It -seemed to him that the alarm was given on the _moucharabi_, and that a -bullet whistled by his ears; he did not hear the report, the blood was -making so much noise in his head. - -When he was out of range, he paused and leaned against a tree, for his -strength failed him at the thought of what was taking place between -Aristandre and the enemy's sentinels. - -He heard a great uproar in the tower, and something that sounded like -the blows of a pickaxe on stone. It was Aristandre's spade, which he -kept whirling about his head in the darkness; but he prudently kept -silent, in order to be taken for a drunken gypsy, and Mario, straining -his ears to hear his loud voice among the others, lost hope, and, with -hope, courage to fly without him. - -The poor boy was thinking so little of himself that he did not even -start when he felt a hand on his arm. - -It was Pilar, who had run faster than he, and was retracing her steps to -find him. - -"Well, well, what are you doing here?" she said. "Come, while they are -killing him! When they have finished killing him, they will chase us!" - -The little gypsy's ghastly sang-froid horrified Mario. Reared amid -scenes of violence and bloodshed, she hardly knew what fear meant, and -had not the faintest conception of pity. - -But, by virtue of some swift sequence of ideas, Mario thought of -Lauriane, and all the resolution of which a child is capable returned to -his heart. - -He ran on once more, and, motioning to Pilar to take the lower road, -turned into the road leading to the plateau of Le Chaumois. A few steps -farther on he stumbled over an object which lay across the road. It was -the second dead body which Aristandre had pointed out to him, but which -they had not had time to examine. Feeling the body under him, Mario was -bathed in cold perspiration; perhaps it was Adamas! He mustered courage -to touch it, and having satisfied himself that the clothes were those of -a peasant, he hurried forward. - -The sight of the pale sky over the bare fields made him breathe more -freely; the darkness was stifling him. He took a bee-line across the -fields, but a new terror awaited him there. A pale, indistinct form -seemed to be flitting over the furrows. It came toward him. He tried to -elude it, but it followed him. It was an animal of some sort chasing -him. All the old women's tales about the white greyhound, and the imp -that cries: "_Robert is dead_!" flashed through his mind. - -But of a sudden the beast neighed and came near enough to be recognized. -It was Mario's dear little horse, which had scented him from afar and -came to offer him his help. - -"Ah! my dear Coquet!" cried the child seizing his mane, "you come in the -nick of time! and did you recognize me, poor fellow, in spite of these -clothes, which you never saw? You were terribly frightened during that -horrid battle, weren't you? You ran off at once, before they raised the -bridge, and you were eating dry thistles here instead of your oats! Let -us be off! we will both of us sup when we have time!" - -As he chattered thus to his horse, Mario rearranged the stirrups, which -had suffered somewhat in the bushes. Then, having mounted, he rode away -like an arrow. - -We will leave him for the moment and return to Briantes, where the -plight of the besieged garrison causes us some anxiety. - - - - -L - - -When Mario and Aristandre arrived at Briantes, not a quarter of an hour -had elapsed since the bandits had made their sudden appearance there. - -Lauriane was about sitting down to supper when she heard confused -outcries and the report of firearms in the direction of the village--we -might say, according to the custom in the province, the _bourg_, since -the little settlement was fortified in very ancient times; but the old -Gallo-Roman stone wall was demolished to the level of the ground in many -places, and it was a long time since the people had ceased to incur the -expense of maintaining gates. - -These noises, which the people in the château and those at the -farm-house as well, supposed at first to be caused by villagers turning -out to hunt some creature that had stolen into their enclosures, -speedily assumed a more alarming character. - -Everyone seized upon the first weapon that came to hand, and the -farmers, brandishing their flails, hurried to the tower of the _huis_. -But they were instantly forced back and their efforts paralyzed by the -people from the village, who, rushing from all directions, came together -at the approaches to the bridge, and in their terror overturned and -trampled on the men who were running to their assistance. - -And yet the attacking party consisted of only about fifty men, followed -by a number of women and children; but it will be remembered that the -marquis had ordered out and despatched to the attack on Brilbault all -the stout and intrepid men in his little fief, so that the population -surprised by the brigands consisted at that moment of women and -children, crippled old men, or weak, half-grown boys. - -The sight of the horrible masks worn by the bandits produced the effect -they had anticipated. A general panic seized the peasants, and fear -afforded them only so much strength as was necessary to prevent the -loyal retainers from the château from going forth to meet the foe. - -One of the dead bodies that Mario found on the road was that of a -deformed young man who fell and was trampled under foot by the -fugitives; the other, a poor old fellow who alone tried to face the -enemy and was struck down by Sancho with the butt of his gun. - -They had barely time to cross the bridge, and could not raise it because -of the stragglers who whined and cried and implored shelter for -themselves and their cattle. The enemy took advantage of the confusion -to overtake them. - -Thereupon the battle began under the archway of the _huis_, where the -defenders of the château, surrounded by crying children and animals -that were either inert and stupid or wounded and frantic, were instantly -forced to fall back. - -They had no sooner retreated to the _basse-cour_ than the peasants -abandoned them and rushed madly to the stone bridge; so that the brave -fellows, numbering no more than half a score, were surrounded by the -brigands and forced to fall back to the _huisset_, heroically contesting -every inch of the ground. - -One of the bravest, Charasson the farmer, was killed; two others were -wounded. They would all have fallen there, for the redoubtable Sancho -fought with the frenzy of desperation, had it not been for the dastardly -behavior of La Flèche and his consorts, "who were eager for pillage, -and in nowise eager for hard knocks." - -Reduced to seven, the gallant defenders were obliged to retreat into the -courtyard; the which was no easy matter, because the courtyard was so -crowded. They were so hotly pressed by Sancho that a great number of the -beasts were left outside, or in their excitement plunged into the moat. - -During this desperate struggle, which, however, had lasted barely ten -minutes, Lauriane and Mercedes at first stood, silent and trembling, on -the platform of the tower of the _huisset_. - -When they saw their people give way, being simultaneously inspired by -the courage which fear imparts to the weak when they are not idiots, -they ran to the falconets, which were always ready to be discharged. -They hurriedly lighted the matches, and held themselves in readiness to -fire, encouraging each other, and trying to remember what they had seen -Mario and the other young men of the household taught to do by way of -practice. But it was not yet possible to fire on the enemy, they were so -inextricably mingled with the defenders of the château. - -But what was Adamas doing at that supreme moment? Adamas was in the -bowels of the earth. - -The reader will remember hearing of a secret passage, by means of which -Lucilio's escape was to be effected, in case of need. This passage -passed under the moat and led to a sunken road which had been filled -with gravel by the freshets of the last few years. Adamas had imagined -that to clear the opening would require only a few hours' labor on the -part of his ditchers. But the damage was more extensive than he -supposed, and in three days they had not succeeded in making the passage -practicable. - -He went every evening to see what had been done during the day, and he -was buried there during the battle, making his daily inspection, taking -measurements, without the slightest suspicion of the tumult that reigned -out-of-doors. - -When he emerged from his hole, the entrance to which was under the -staircase in the turret, he was like a drunken man for some moments and -believed that he was dreaming; but, being a man of expedients, he -speedily recovered his presence of mind. - -He arrived just at the moment when the besieged fell back into the -courtyard and the enemy were on the point of forcing their way in as -well, everyone having lost his head. - -Active and always well shod, like the true _homme de chambre_ that he -was, he gave but one bound to the tower of the _huisset_ and dropped the -portcullis in the face of the assailants, and, in fact, on the backs of -some of them, so that the base of that instrument of exclusion did not -reach the ground. He discovered it in time. - -"Clindor!" he shouted to the bewildered page, who was preparing to close -the gates behind the portcullis, "stay, stay! What's the reason that the -portcullis doesn't fall? I still have a foot of it above the groove." - -Clindor, who was not very brave, although he did his utmost to be, -looked and recoiled in horror. - -"I should think so," he said, "there are three men under it!" - -"_Numes célestes_! our men! Look, I say, you triple sucking calf!" - -"No, no, theirs." - -"So much the better, by Mercury! Come here, quickly, some of you! Get on -top of the portcullis! Bear down! bear down! Don't you see that those -dead bodies will enable the living to crawl under the iron teeth, and -that, when they are once under the archway, they will set fire to our -gates! Down, down, you fellows! Break the heads of anyone who tries to -pass, with hammers or feet or musket-butts. Mow them down with your -scythe, living and dead, good Andoche! And you, Châtaignier, have you -another charge? Have at that red-nose protruding there! So! bravo! by -the god Teutates, that is well! right in the mouth! That makes one less -of them!" - -Mingling thus eloquent appeals with colloquial phrases whereby he -deigned to descend to the level of the common herd, Adamas had the -satisfaction of seeing the portcullis flatten the bodies beneath it, and -the assailants fall back to the end of the bridge. - -"Now to the falconets!" he cried. "Move quicker than that, my Cupids! -Come, come, ten thousand devils! Aim! aim! Make me a fricassee of these -birds of darkness!" - -The miniature artillery of the château disheartened the bandits, who -had nothing with which to reply to it; so they carried away their -wounded and decided, in default of anything better, to go and sack the -abandoned farmhouse and banquet there. - -They tossed live calves and sheep into the embers of the burned mill, -whence there soon arose an acrid odor of burning wool. They pushed back -with pitchforks the unfortunate creatures which sought to escape from -that torture. They devoured them half raw, half charred. The casks in -the farm-house cellar were burst in. One and all became more or less -intoxicated, even the children and the wounded. They threw the body of -the ill-fated farmer into the fire, and they would have dealt out the -same treatment to the two servants who were prisoners in their hands, -except for the hope of ransom; and even so they spared them against the -wishes of Sancho, who was unwilling to give quarter to anyone. - -The old Spaniard did not think of eating or drinking or stealing. It was -against his will that the Brilbault band had gone before the more useful -auxiliaries whose arrival he awaited with impatience in order to -consummate his vengeance. He was anxious, not lest he should lose his -own life, for he had made up his mind beforehand to sacrifice that, but -lest his undertaking should fail by reason of the haste and greed of the -wretched creatures whom he had enlisted in it. - -Being unable to hold them back until the hour at which it was arranged -that his real allies should open the march and lead the expedition, he -had accompanied them in order that no other than himself should have the -privilege of torturing the _beaux messieurs de Bois-Doré_, if they -should have the ill-luck to fall into the hands of those marauders. - -In the heat of the battle, he, the only fanatically brave man in the -party, had naturally taken his place at their head. But, when the battle -was won, he ceased to be of any consequence to them; and soon, as we -have seen, he took upon himself the duty of guarding the tower of the -_huis_, where a surprise was to be feared, and whence he watched -anxiously for the arrival of those who were to effect the capture and -sacking of the château, and, as a result, the destruction of all those -who had been concerned in D'Alvimar's death, either as cause or -instrument. - -If the people in the château were more prudent than those in the -_basse-cour_, they were no more tranquil, and they hastily took all the -measures necessary to defend themselves against a fresh attack. - -They saw and heard the carousing of the bandits, and if they had chosen -to sacrifice the farm-house, it would have been easy enough to dislodge -them with their long muskets. - -But not only did they hope for the arrival of reinforcements during the -night, before the wretches should think of setting fire to the buildings -in the _basse-cour_, but they were afraid to fire, because of the -prisoners, the number of whom they did not know, and of the cattle, -which were too large to be taken whole into the stomachs of those -starved creatures. - -They counted heads, and the absence of the unfortunate fellows who had -fallen or been taken was discovered. - -Adamas ordered all the useless people of the village into the stables. -They gave the poor creatures plenty of fresh straw, bidding them keep -perfectly quiet and lament in whispers, which it was not easy to induce -them to do. - -Lauriane and Mercedes busied themselves nursing the wounded and feeding -the children. - -Meanwhile Adamas posted his force at all the places exposed to the fire -of the assailants, in such manner that they could neutralize it by their -fire; and to prevent anyone from sleeping on his post, he passed his -time going from one to another, distributing words of praise and -encouragement, exhibiting hope, fear, or absolute confidence in the -result of the siege, according to the temperament of each person he -addressed. The shrewd Adamas, who had never handled any other weapon -than the comb and the curling-iron, manifestly played the rôle of the -fly on the coach, a rôle which he was able to make very useful, and -which those who are familiar with Berrichon moderation and apathy know -to be very necessary. - -When everything was arranged, Adamas, worn out with fatigue and -excitement, threw himself on a chair in the kitchen to take breath, were -it for no more than five minutes, and to collect his wits. - -His heart was very heavy, and he dared not confide his distress to -anyone. He alone knew that Mario was not to accompany his father to -Brilbault, and that, if he were not already taken, he might arrive at -any moment and fall into the hands of the enemy. - -Neither Lauriane nor Mercedes shared his suffering; to avoid worrying -them, the marquis had concealed his plans from them. So far as they -knew, he had simply taken his people out for a _battue_. They had felt -that something more serious was in the air, from his preoccupied manner -and the frequent conferences he had held with his friends and servants -throughout the day; but they were too well aware of his paternal -affection to fear that he would expose Mario to any danger, and they -both imagined that he would pass the night at the château of Ars or of -Coudray. - -Adamas was beset by innumerable perplexities, debating within himself -whether he ought not to set everybody at work clearing the secret -passage, in order to go out that way to meet Mario and send word to the -marquis, at the same time enabling the women to escape. But he had -measured the ground so many times that he knew that many hours' work -would still be required, and during that time the château, being no -longer guarded, might well be invaded. Then what would become of them, -confined in that issueless underground passage, the entrance to which -would not be likely to escape the notice of the plunderers? - -He was interrupted in his agitated reflections by Clindor, who -approached him on tiptoe. - -"What are you doing here, you worthless page?" he demanded angrily. - -And, forgetting that he was resting himself, he added: - -"Is this a night to rest?" - -"No, I know it isn't," replied the page; "but I am looking for----" - -"For whom? Tell me quickly!" - -"The coachman! haven't you seen him?" - -"Aristandre? Have you seen him about here I ask, that you are looking -for him? Answer me!" - -"I haven't seen him in the château; but, as sure as you are sitting -there, I saw him on the stone bridge, while they were fighting there." - -"Death of my life! he isn't in the château, I will swear to that! But -Mario! he was to bring Mario home! Did you see Mario?" - -"No; I thought of him and I looked all about; Mario wasn't there." - -"God be praised! If Mario had come with him, you wouldn't have seen one -without the other. He wouldn't have gone a foot away from him. He -wouldn't have taken part in the battle. Doubtless monsieur kept the -child with him and sent the coachman back to tell us. But the poor -coachman! You say that he was fighting?" - -"Like thirty devils!" - -"I am sure of it! and then what?" - -"Then, then--the portcullis fell and I ran to shut the gates." - -"Hell fire! perhaps it fell on--Here, take this torch, and come!" - -"No, no! I saw the men that were crushed. He wasn't one of them." - -"You didn't see clearly, you were frightened!" - -"I, frightened! Upon my word!" - -"No matter, come, I tell you!" - -And Adamas ran and opened the gates and looked in fear and trembling at -the bodies flattened under the iron teeth. They were so crushed and -mutilated, that the ghastly spectacle caused the torch to fall from the -page's hands. - -Adamas rose with an oath; but, by the light of the smoking torch, -sputtering and dying in the blood, he saw Aristandre standing beside -him. - -"Ah! my friend!" he cried, throwing his arms around his neck. "Mario! -where is Mario?" - -"Saved!" said the coachman, "and I too, but not without difficulty! A -glass of gin or brandy, quick! my teeth are chattering and I don't want -to die, _sacrebleu_! I may still be good for something inside here!" - -"What a state you are in, my poor friend!" said Adamas, dragging him -away to the kitchen, where Clindor gave him something to drink; "where -the devil have you come from?" - -"_Parbleu_! from the pond," replied the coachman, who was covered with -mud; "how else could I have got in? For a quarter of an hour I have been -stamping about in the grass and the mud." - -He tore his clothes into strips and planted himself in front of the -fire, saying: - -"Look, Adamas, and see if I am not losing too much blood, and stop it -for me, old fellow, for I feel very weak!" - -Adamas examined him; he had something like ten wounds and as many -bruises. - -"_Numes célestes_!" cried Adamas; "I don't see a single sound spot on -your poor corpse!" - -"Corpse yourself!" cried the coachman, tossing off another bumper. "Do -you take me for a ghost? To be sure I have come back from a long -distance; but I'm better now; my hide's as thick as my horses', thank -God! Don't let me bleed, that's all I ask. It's a bad thing for a man to -lose all the blood in his body." - -Adamas washed him and dressed his wounds with marvellous skill. - -Thanks to the thickness of his skin and the herculean strength of his -muscles, the wounded man had escaped serious injury. - -"And the child?" said Adamas, as he dressed him in dry clothes which -Clindor had brought; "was the child in danger?" - -Aristandre told everything that had happened down to the time that he -raised the stake of the _sarrasine_. - -"The child got through," he said; "the beggars on the _moucharabi_ fired -at him but didn't hit him. I had that hound of a Sancho by the throat at -that moment. I might have strangled him, but I let him go and ran out on -the _moucharabi_, and I saw Mario running like the wind; then I fell on -the other two curs. I had only a spade, but I routed them in fine shape, -I tell you! Sancho came at me again with his broken rapier, and tried to -scratch me with the hilt, I think, for he struck at my head and face -when he couldn't reach my stomach. Ah! the old madman, how hard he -strikes! And then, you see, I was already wounded and had not my -strength! But it warmed me up a little all the same, because I had -already swam across the pond once to join dear little Mario in the -garden, and I was shivering. However, I couldn't make an end of the old -devil, and that is all I regret. When I heard others coming to his -assistance, I slipped down the staircase, and as his legs aren't so -active as his arm is heavy, I succeeded in returning to the garden -without his knowing where I had gone. And from there faith, I had no -other choice than to come back here by way of the pond, and here I am!" - -"Coachman!" cried Adamas, who, unlike many men, felt a sincere -admiration for exploits of which he knew that he was incapable, "you are -as great as Monsieur d'Urfé's greatest heroes! and if monsieur takes my -advice, he will have you represented in tapestry in his salon, to -perpetuate the memory of your courage and your stout heart." - -"If it's only a question of being great," replied the artless -Aristandre, "I can safely say that I have the size. But I am going to -see my horses; after that, we will think about making a little sortie to -clear the _basse-cour_ of these vermin. What do you say about it, old -fellow?" - -The prudent Adamas was not heartily in favor of the plan. - -While they are discussing projects of attack and defence, we will join -Mario, who has just arrived in sight of the great tree by which the hill -of Etalié is crowned to this day. - -The child looked up at the stars which he had learned to know during his -life among the shepherds: it was about half-past nine. - -At that period there was a single house in that solitude; it was an inn -and at the same time a sort of hunting rendezvous. - -The hill, situated amid plains of vast extent and teeming with game, was -often honored by the sojourn of noblemen of the province, who assembled -to hunt the hare and to dine or sup at the sign of the _Geault-Rouge_. - -This will explain the fact that an inn so small, situated so near a -large town that it could not hope to entertain wealthy travellers, -possessed in the person of Master Pignoux, landlord of the -_Geault-Rouge_, a cook of the rarest excellence. - -When the gentlemen of the neighborhood indulged in the sport of fishing -in the ponds of Thevet, they always sent in haste for Master Pignoux, -who would come with his wife, set up his canteen on the water's edge, -and serve them, under some lovely arbor, those marvellous -_matelotes_[6]--they were then called _étuvées_--which had made his -reputation. He also went about to the towns and châteaux near by, for -wedding and other festivals, and, it was said, could have taught -Monsieur le Prince's master cooks a thing or two. - -The _Geault-Rouge_ was a solidly built structure, of two high stories, -covered with tiles of a brilliant red which could be seen a league away. -Through the influence of the noblemen of the neighborhood, Master -Pignoux had obtained permission to put a vane on his roof, a privilege -of the nobility to which he declared that he was entitled, as he so -often had occasion to entertain the nobility. The incessant shrill -shrieking of that vane, which seemed to be the objective point of all -the winds of the plain, blended with the perpetual creaking of the great -iron sign representing the _Geault-Rouge_ in its glory, which swung -haughtily at the end of a staff projecting from a window on the second -floor. - -Opposite the house, on the other side of the road, was a very large -thatch-covered stable, and long sheds for the accommodation of the -retinues by whom the noble sportsmen were commonly attended. The inn -itself was specially reserved for the nobles themselves. - -Everyone knows that in those days inns were distinguished as -_hostelleries_, _gîtes_ and _repues_. The _gîtes_ gave special -attention to providing lodging for the night, the _repues_ to furnishing -dinner for travellers; the latter were wretched taverns where well-to-do -people stopped only in default of some better place, and where they were -sometimes fed upon crow, ass's meat, and _Sancerre eels_, that is to -say, snakes. The _gîtes_, on the contrary, were often very sumptuous. - -Inns were also divided into those for people on foot and those for -people on horseback. One could take two meals there. On the sign of the -_Geault-Rouge_ were these words, in huge letters: - - - HOSTELRY LICENSED BY THE KING - -and below: - - DINNER FOR MOUNTED TRAVELLERS, 12 SOLS; - LODGING FOR THE SAME, 20 SOLS - - -The inn-keeper's privilege was confirmed by letters-patent from the -king. Pedestrians could not be entertained at an inn for the -accommodation of mounted travellers, and _vice versa_. - -"The French laws prevent the former from spending too much, the latter -from spending too little."[7] - -Mario, seeing that the inn was brilliantly lighted, was not surprised to -hear his little horse neigh with pleasure when he was within two hundred -yards. He supposed that he recognized his surroundings. - -But he was surprised when he suddenly turned to the left and seemed -unwilling to resume the straight road. - -The child, who was on the alert, pricked up his ears. It seemed to him -that he could hear the sound of horses's feet in the direction of the -inn, which the night mist still prevented him from seeing distinctly. He -was overjoyed. - -"My father must be here," he said to himself, "with all his people; -perhaps with Monsieur d'Ars and his suite. I will hurry on." - -But Coquet required so much urging to go forward, that his young rider -thought that he ought to try to fathom the intelligent creature's idea. -He drew rein, and heard, much nearer at hand than the inn stable, the -familiar neigh of Rosidor, the marquis's faithful palfrey. - -"So my father is over there, is he?" he said to himself. "I must be -careful not to pass him on the road." - -And as he could distinguish nothing at his left except what seemed to be -dense underbrush, he dropped the reins on Coquet's neck, feeling certain -that he would find a way to join his stable companion. - -Coquet entered the underbrush and halted in front of a dilapidated, -tumble-down hovel. - -It was the original _Geault-Rouge_ inn, abandoned to its own destruction -twenty years before; Bois-Doré, Guillaume and Monsieur Robin having -cooperated to build the new one and present it to Master Pignoux as a -token of their esteem for his probity and his culinary skill. - - -[Footnote 6: A dish compounded of several sorts of fish, with an -elaborate sauce.] - -[Footnote 7: Monteil, _History of Frenchmen of Various Ranks_.] - - - - -LI - - -Mario entered without difficulty, there being no door. - -He put his hand upon Rosidor, whom he recognized by his accoutrements -and his fine coat, as well as by his caressing voice; and the finding of -his father's horse concealed in a ruin caused him to reflect. - -He looked about, called his father cautiously, and, having satisfied -himself that he was alone, conceived it to be his duty to imitate the -example which seemed to be given him, by fastening Coquet beside -Rosidor, and proceeding on foot, and as noiselessly as possible, toward -the new inn. - -He crept along the bushes and suddenly came upon a party of mounted men, -who seemed to be pitching their camp in that place, some busied about -their horses, which they were taking to the great stable opposite; -others, who had already attended to that duty, stood in the road, -exchanging in undertones and with a mysterious air words which Mario -could not understand. - -He glided among them unobserved; but when he stood in the doorway of the -great kitchen of the inn, illuminated by the bright fire on the hearth -which shone through the door, he felt a rough hand seize him by the -collar, and a gruff voice said to him in French, but with a very -pronounced German accent: - -"No admittance!" - -At the same time he saw two tall dark-skinned men, armed to the teeth, -standing guard on each side of the door. - -Thereupon Sancho's words recurred to his memory, and what Pilar had said -of the reinforcement expected by the bandits. - -"I have tumbled into a wasp's-nest," he thought; "but I am disguised and -they will take me for a little beggar. I must find out if my father is -here." - -So he put out his hand and began to beg, in the piteous tone that he had -heard the gypsies adopt and had sometimes adopted himself, laughing in -his sleeve, during his travels with that honorable company. - -They released him at once, but ordered him to go away, and, when he -pretended not to understand, they threatened him by going through the -motions of taking aim at him. - -He was about to go, being fully determined to return, when another -voice, coming from the inn, issued an order in German; whereupon, -instead of turning him out-of-doors, they seized him by the collar again -and pushed him into the kitchen. - -There, before he had time to collect his thoughts, he found himself -confronted by a tall, thin, dark individual, in military costume, who -said to him with an Italian accent: - -"Come here, boy, and if you have a letter, give it to me." - -"I haven't any letter," replied Mario, looking the stranger in the face -with perfect self-possession. - -"A verbal message then, eh? Speak!" - -"Before I speak," said the boy, with great presence of mind, "I must -know to whom I am speaking." - -"_Diable_!" said the stranger with a scornful smile, "we are a very wary -youth; that is well enough! This is the countersign: _Saccage_ and -_Macabre_. What name has been given you?" - -"La Flèche," replied Mario, at random. - -"What? what is that?" said the Italian frowning. "There's no rhyme -there." - -"Wait!" cried Mario, inspired by that reply, "that isn't all. Isn't -there a _pillage_ in your countersign?" - -"That rhymes better," said the other, smiling dismally; "but that isn't -all yet, you little monkey! Your memory is failing you!" - -"Perhaps so," said the child; "there's another word, I know. Isn't it -Sancho?" - -"There we are! Now then, stand in this corner and don't stir. I am -Lieutenant Saccage; Captain Macabre will be here in a quarter of an -hour. He's the one to whom you must give your message, which I care very -little about, for my part. I say, you fellows, hold your tongues!" he -shouted to the horsemen, who were going to and fro around the house, -talking a little louder than seemed to be necessary. - -Profound silence ensued, and he who styled himself Lieutenant Saccage -said to Mario, who was meditating upon the means of gaining admittance -to another room, to find his father or someone who could give him some -news of him: - -"My good friend, it is well that you should know the countersign, for -your protection. We send away or arrest everyone who tries to enter this -house; we fire on everyone who tries to go out. Do you understand that?" - -"But I have no reason for trying to go out," replied Mario, cautiously; -"I am looking round to see if there's anything to eat; I am hungry." - -"That makes no difference to me, my boy. We are hungry too, and we're -waiting for the captain to give us orders to eat." - -Mario was not hungry. He was very anxious. In the room at the rear, -which was a sort of pantry and serving-room, he saw Mistress Pignoux and -her servant bustling about. It seemed to him that the former saw him and -recognized him, and that she even spoke to the servant, as if to warn -her not to mention the discovery. - -But all this might well be a delusion, and Mario waited for a moment -when Saccage's back should be turned, to try to exchange a word or a -glance with the hostess. He knew that everybody in the house worshipped -his father and himself. - -He adopted the plan of pretending to fall asleep, and Saccage soon went -out to give some order. - -Thereupon the child rushed up to Madame Pignoux, saying: - -"It is I! not a word! where is my father?" - -"Upstairs!" replied Madame Pignoux hastily; although advanced in years, -she was still a robust woman, with a firm foot and a keen eye. - -She pointed to the wooden staircase leading to the dining-room, called -the _salle d'honneur_ at the _Geault-Rouge_. - -But, as the child was already climbing the stairs, she detained him. - -"No!" she said, "they don't know that he is here! Don't stir, my young -master. They would kill him!" - -"Who are these men?" - -"A wicked lot! Do you know what _arêtes_ are?" - -"No! Wait a moment! Perhaps you mean _reitres_?" - -"Yes, that's the word. My servant Jacques, who has served in the army, -recognized them. They are brigands who burn and kill wherever they go." - -"But they haven't done you any harm, have they?" - -"No; they want food and drink; afterwards God only knows whether they -won't burn the house and us with it! That's the way they pay their -reckoning." - -"Madame Pignoux, my father must escape from here! How can he do it?" - -"Impossible at present! They are guarding all the doors, and your papa -is too old to jump out of a window. Indeed, what would be the use? The -house is surrounded, and they won't even let us go to the hen-coop and -the cellar without following at our heels." - -"But you must at least hide my father! Ah! I am very sure now that it's -he they are after! Where is he?" - -"In my man's room, who luckily isn't at home! He has gone to cook a -wedding banquet at La Châtre and won't return till to-morrow. They -called for him by name." - -"Who? my father?" - -"No, my man! I would like to know how it happens that they know him! I -told them he was sick, and I said it very loud so that your papa could -hear it upstairs. I hope that it will occur to him to get into bed." - -"But didn't they suggest going upstairs?" - -"Yes, indeed; they looked into the _salle d'honneur_, and they said----" - -"But they are coming back; we must stop talking," said Mario. - -And he hurried back to his corner in the kitchen and resumed his drowsy -attitude. - -"Come, old witch, make haste!" cried Saccage, returning with two of his -followers; "lay the table and give us the best you have. Captain Macabre -is here. Do you fellows see that the men observe the order: _Silence and -patience_!" he said to his soldiers. "No one must think of eating before -the captain is at the table. The captain halts here to obtain a good -supper, and doesn't propose to have the pantry ransacked and nothing but -bones left for him and his officers. Remember the fellows who were -hanged at Linières for laying hands on the provisions! Go!--I spoke for -your ears, madame she-ape," he added, addressing the hostess as soon as -the soldiers had gone, "so that you might know that this is no time for -snivelling and heaving sighs. Look alive and put on the spit. To work, I -say! and if the joint is burned by your fault, look out for your old -carcass!" - -"How do you expect me to hurry, when I have to do everything almost -alone?" said Madame Pignoux, unmoved by his insults. "There are only us -two old women here. Let them give me back my servant so that he can lay -the table. I can't be upstairs and down at the same time, can I?" - -"Your servant is under suspicion, old woman. He acted as if he meant to -run away when he saw us, and then he tried to hide the oats. He has had -a good thrashing and is now working for us." - -"Well, how about this urchin?" rejoined the hostess, talking away as she -spitted her chickens; "is he one of your band? couldn't he help me?" - -"Help her, good-for-naught," said Saccage to Mario, "and do your work -neatly!" - -Mario rose with affected indifference, and asked what he should do. - -"What's that? go upstairs with the maid," cried Madame Pignoux, "and lay -the cloth in a hurry." - -Mario went up, and said to the servant: - -"My father? which room is he in? Tell me quickly!" - -She led him up to the second floor and the child scratched gently at the -door, which was locked and bolted inside. - -The marquis instantly recognized that little hand, which scratched so -every morning at his bedroom door. - -"O God!" he cried, hurriedly opening the door, "you here? But what does -this costume mean? Whom did you come with? how? why?" - -"I haven't any time to explain," replied Mario. "I am alone; I want you -to escape from here. Do as I have done, father; disguise yourself." - -"Yes, to be sure," said the servant; "here are master's clothes; put -them on, monsieur le mar----" - -"No marquises!" said Mario; "leave us, my good girl; and you, father, -shall be Master Pignoux." - -"But why show myself?" observed the marquis, as he mechanically -unbuttoned his vest; "I shall not be able to act a part as you do, my -child." - -"Yes, you will, yes, you will, my father! But, tell me, don't you know a -_reitre_ named Macabre? It seems to me I have heard you mention that -name." - -"Macabre? Yes, to be sure, I know that name and the man too, if it's the -same one who----" - -"Is it a long time since he saw you?" - -"The devil! yes! something like twenty or thirty years--perhaps more!" - -"Well, that is all right! Show yourself without fear; play the -inn-keeper, and we will find a way to escape." - -"That will not be possible, my child," said the marquis, continuing to -undress. "We have crafty rascals to deal with. Just fancy that they came -up with no more noise than if it had been a troop of mules going at a -footpace under the charge of a single man. I had no suspicion; the -hostess was asleep in the chimney corner. I was in the living-room, -reading _Astrée_, while waiting until it was time to start." - -"Let us hide _Astrée_! Cooks do not read books bound in silk," said -Mario, seizing the volume, which the marquis had instinctively placed -beside his hat when he took possession of the inn-keeper's chamber. - -And, as the marquis removed each piece of his clothing, the child -concealed it also under the firewood in a small loft adjoining. - -"But did they not recognize you as a gentleman, my poor child?" -continued the marquis, intensely excited as we may believe. "_Mon Dieu_! -have they done you no harm?" - -"No, no; let us talk about you, father. Didn't you try to leave the -house before they had stationed their sentinels?" - -"No, certainly not. I had no suspicion! They made so little noise that I -thought that some muleteer had stopped here; and not until they had -surrounded the house did they raise their voices slightly, and then I -saw through the window that I was caught in a trap by the worst sort of -cutthroats and villains within my knowledge. I kept perfectly still, -thinking that they would soon go away; but I heard some Italian words, -which I partly understood. They intend, I believe, to stay here until -daybreak. Thereupon I said to myself that my people, finding that I did -not arrive at Brilbault, where I am expected at ten o'clock, would be -anxious about me, and would come during the night to look for me here, -where they know that I was to stop. It would be better to wait for them. -There are only about a dozen of these _reitres_; I was able to count -them pretty accurately, and when our people arrive I shall have no -difficulty in cutting our way to them through these knaves with my -sword." - -"Father," said Mario, who was looking out of the window, "there are at -least twenty-five of them! for here is another numerous party just -riding up. Our people are not thinking as yet of coming to look for you, -and at any moment these fellows may search the house from top to bottom -for plunder." - -"Well, my child, here I am disguised from top to toe. Stay with me, as -if you were nursing the sick landlord. If they come up here, they will -not disturb us. They maltreat and hold to ransom only well-dressed and -well-mounted people. Ah! by the way, my horse will betray me. They must -have seen him." - -"Your horse is hidden, and so is mine." - -"Really? Then it must have been that worthy ostler who found a way to -put him out of sight. But what is the matter with the brigands that they -are shouting so? Do you hear them?" - -"They are calling me. Stay here, father; don't lock yourself in: that -would arouse suspicion. Hark! they are going into the room below. I must -go! Listen to everything; the partitions are very thin. Try to -understand, and be all ready to come if I call you." - - - - -LII - - -Mario ran like a cat down the narrow staircase leading from the -inn-keeper's chamber to the _salle d'honneur_, and found himself in the -presence of Captain Macabre, who, at the same instant, entered the room -with heavy tread by the staircase leading from the kitchen. - -Lieutenant Saccage was also there with two or three other men of no less -hang-dog aspect. - -The appearance of the individual who bore the sinister name of Macabre -was less repellent at first glance than his lieutenant's. The latter was -treacherous and cold, with a fiendish laugh. Macabre's face indicated -nothing worse than brutalized roughness, which strove to appear -imposing. - -There was no place for a smile upon that face stupefied by fatigue and -dissipation. The muscles seemed to have grown stiff--to have become -ossified; the light eyes had a fixed stare like eyes made of enamel. The -strongly marked features resembled Mr. Punch's, minus the animated, sly -expression. A great scar across the jaw had paralyzed one corner of the -mouth and separated in a curious way the gray and red beard, which -seemed to grow in different directions, and, as to part of it, against -the grain. A great hairy mole emphasized the hump on his protuberant -nose. His fingers bristled with gray hair to the roots of the nails. - -He was short and thin, but broad-shouldered, and as compactly built as a -wild-boar, with tawny coat and head set close to the shoulders, like -that beast. He seemed quite old, but his appearance still indicated -herculean strength. His rasping voice, still maintained at the high -pitch of the military officer in the mouth of a fool, sounded like a -peal of thunder with the influenza, and made the glasses on the table -rattle. - -He was dressed after the fashion of the _reitres_, in doublet and -tassets of buffalo hide, with a helmet and breastplate of burnished -iron. A wretched stripped black feather adorned that black and gleaming -helmet. He carried the stout, broad German sword, against which the -glistening lances of the French gendarmerie were easily shattered; -flint-lock pistols, to which our soldiers foolishly preferred the old -match-lock weapons; a short musket, and a bandoleer with little black -leather compartments containing charges of powder and ball, completed -this individual's campaign equipment. - -His private escort, or, as was still said at this time, his _lance_, -consisted of two carbineers for scouting purposes, and two -_coutilliers_, who performed the twofold functions of pages and -farriers. - -He had also seven soldiers, well-armed and mounted as light-horse, who -never left him, and who were the cream of his _cornette_, or troop of -picked men. We may translate, in this way, by equivalent terms to those -in use at this time, the titles and different grades of this tribe of -foreign adventurers, whose organization, equipment and staff each leader -modified, according to his whim or his power. - -Mario had not erred in estimating at twenty-five men the band -accompanying the captain, added to that already at the inn under his -lieutenant's command. - -"Here's a filthy tavern!" cried the captain in a disdainful tone, -scraping the heavy soles of his great muddy boots on the clean and -glistening rungs of a walnut chair. "What sort of a fire is that for -travellers by night? Are you short of wood in this barrack?" - -"Alas! monsieur," said the servant, tossing an armful of wood on the -fire, which was already burning brightly, "we can do no better; this is -a flat country and wood is scarce." - - -[Illustration: _MACABRE AND HIS BAND AT -THE INN._ - -"_Look you, my toothless beauty; this is the way -we warm ourselves when wood is dear!_" - -_And he tossed the chair on which he had just -wiped his feet into the fire._] - - -"There's a stupid girl, and uglier, if possible, than her mistress!" -rejoined the courteous Macabre. "Look you, my toothless beauty; this is -the way we warm ourselves when wood is dear!" - -And he tossed the chair on which he had just wiped his feet into the -fire. - -"And now, lieutenant," he continued coolly, turning to Saccage, "you say -there's a little ragamuffin here, sent by those----" - -"Here you are at last!" replied Saccage, raising his foot to impel Mario -more rapidly toward the venerable captain. - -Mario eluded the outrage by darting nimbly under the _reitre's_ foot, -and, standing in front of the other brute, said to him coolly: - -"I am here, and this is my message; for I gave your lieutenant the -countersign. You cannot stay in this inn, because a large body of armed -men is coming here to-night. You cannot attack the château, which is -well guarded. You must go back where you came from, or you will get into -trouble; Sancho sends this message to you." - -"Your Sancho is truly an old ass," retorted the captain. - -And he added, accompanying each word with an oath which it is hardly -worth while to repeat in order to convey an idea of the charm of his -conversation: - -"I haven't travelled a hundred leagues through a hostile country to go -back empty-handed. Go and tell the man who sent you that Captain Macabre -knows the country better than he does and cares devilish little about a -well-guarded château! Tell him that I have forty horsemen, for there -are fifteen more behind me, who are coming on in charge of _my wife_, -and that forty _reitres_ are as good as an army. Come, off with you, and -go to the devil, gypsy!" - -"Don't send him away, captain," said Saccage, who seemed the more -judicious member of the council; "it's of no use for us to have anything -more to do with that Spanish lunatic and that gypsy scum. It is quite -unnecessary to send this sharp young messenger to say that you are going -on. They would follow us and would simply embarrass us and burn and rob -all around us. Do what your wife told you. Stay here till midnight, and -then you will arrive long before daybreak, for it's only two leagues -from here to Briantes. So don't let this little fellow go. I'll throw -him out of the window, if you choose; that will prevent his running." - -"No! no unnecessary severity," bleated the captain in falsetto. "I have -become a humane and gentle man since I have had a tender-hearted spouse. -Is the house properly guarded?" - -"A fly could not get in without my permission." - -"Then let us sup in peace, as soon as my Proserpine arrives. Have you -given orders?" - -"Yes; but in spite of Madame Proserpine's fine promises about the -comforts of this inn, we shall sup but poorly here, I am afraid. The -wonderful cook of whom she said so much is in bed, at the point of -death, and the woman is losing her wits. The servant is a traitor whom -we have to watch, and the maid is a frightened old fool who breaks -everything she touches and doesn't forward matters." - -"That's because you speak harshly to them, my friend! You always have -insults and threats on your lips! Ten thousand devils! as my wife has -often told you, you lack tact. Where is this damned hostess? summon her, -and let me restore courage to her belly with a cuff or two!" - -Walking heavily to the stairs, he called Madame Pignoux, heaping the -coarsest epithets upon her, apparently to set his lieutenant an example -of mildness and courtesy. - -This whole conversation was carried on in French. - -Macabre, who was of German descent, was born at Bourges and had passed -his early youth in Berry. Except for a somewhat extended vocabulary for -use in his military capacity, he spoke the language of his fathers with -difficulty and without pleasure. The Italian Saccage murdered French -with more facility than German. Thus they had difficulty in -understanding each other when they spoke the latter tongue, and moreover -they considered themselves so entirely masters of the situation that -they scorned to take any precautions before Mario and the people of the -house. Mario, who had taken a great risk when he tried to make the -_reitres_ retrace their steps, and who was likely to be contradicted at -any moment by some genuine messenger from Sancho or La Flèche, realized -that it would be too audacious for him to insist for the moment. He -feigned indifference and preoccupation as he laid the table, but did not -lose a word of what the two adventurers said to each other. - -It was quite true that Sancho had promised to send a messenger to -Etalié, which he had designated as the last halting-place of the -_reitres_. But that messenger, who was a gypsy like the rest, and who -hoped that the château of Briantes might be taken and pillaged without -the aid of the Germans, had no idea of doing the errand, but went in -search of plunder in the deserted village, pending the time fixed for -the assault upon the manor by his companions. - -The hostess, in obedience to Macabre's polite summons, came upstairs and -faced him bravely. - -"What is the use of big words, Captain Macabre?" said she, putting her -arms akimbo. "We know each other of old, and I know very well that you -will pay your reckoning and that of your devils of _lansquenets_[8] with -oaths and destruction of property. I don't receive you for my own -pleasure, and I know very well that it is more likely to be for my ruin. -But I am a reasonable woman and no more foolish than another. So I face -ill fortune with a stout heart and serve you to the best of my ability, -in order to escape bad treatment and be rid of your faces the sooner. If -you are at all reasonable yourself, captain, you will say to yourself -that you had better not injure me to no purpose, but let me alone, and -remember that I know how to fry and roast as well as another." - -"In God's name, who are you, old chatterbox?" said the captain, trying -to turn his stiff neck in its iron gorget, in order to look at Madame -Pignoux. - -"My maiden name was Marie Mouton, and I was your cantinière during the -siege of Sancerre; and one day I fricasseed a stale crust for you and -you smacked your lips over it." - -"That may be; I remember the crust, which was good, but not you, who are -ugly. But if you have served the good cause, I forgive your chatter." - -"And what do you call the good cause now? For you and your like have -changed so many times!" - -"Hold your tongue, my dear Bonbec. I don't talk religion with people of -your sort." - -"Understand, too," interposed Saccage with a sneer, "that the good cause -is always the one we serve!" - -"Is this the time for jabbering," continued Macabre, "when my Proserpine -approaches and I order you to make haste?" - -"I cannot work any faster," replied La Pignoux; "why did you call me -upstairs?" - -"Because I propose that your husband, who is supposed to be a decent -sort of cook, shall get up, dead or alive, and put his hand to the -dough." - -"That is impossible; my man is all twisted up with pain, and hasn't -cooked for a long time." - -"You lie, my dear; your man is a tool of old--Enough! I know about you; -my wife has told me----" - -"Old who? what do you mean?" - -"Methinks you question me, strumpet!" said the captain, with a burlesque -dignity which he assumed in perfect good faith. - -"Why not?" retorted the hostess. "And your wife, as you call her,--who -is she, to have kept you so well informed?" - -"Hold your tongue, and when my goddess arrives, serve her on your -knees," said Macabre with a fatuous smile in which his crooked mouth -extended to his left eye. - -Then, recurring to his fixed idea, which was to feast bountifully and -regale his goddess handsomely, he insisted that the inn-keeper should be -made to get up. - -"By hell!" exclaimed Saccage, drawing his sword, "there is no difficulty -about that; I have always heard that you must grease stiff joints to -make them work, and I will find a way to unearth this pretended dying -man whatever hole he may be hiding in! Come with me, scouts! and run -your swords everywhere, whether it's into flesh or marrow." - -"That is unnecessary," said Mario, jumping in front of the unsheathed -sword; "I will go and bring him; I know where Master Pignoux is! I know -him, and when I tell him that he has the honor of receiving Captain -Macabre in person, he will come at once." - -"That is a pretty boy!" said Macabre, looking after Mario as he left the -room. "I must give him to my wife to wait on her. She asks me every day -for a trim little page." - -"You will make nothing of a gypsy," said Saccage. "This imp has an -impudent, sneering air." - -"You are mistaken! I consider him very pretty myself!" rejoined the -captain, who did not enjoy being contradicted too much, and with whom -the lieutenant had been a little too outspoken for several days past, -for reasons which we shall soon learn, and which Macabre was beginning -to suspect. - -The marquis, being anxious about Mario, was standing in a small -passageway near the _salle d'honneur_ and doing his utmost to hear -everything; but his ear grasped only snatches of the conversation, and -Mario, hurrying out in search of him, hastily told him what had taken -place, in as few words as possible. - -He had not time, nor indeed had he the inclination, to tell what was -happening at Briantes; he felt that the marquis already had enough upon -his mind to extricate himself from his present plight, and that he ought -not to disturb him by giving him other motives for apprehension. - -The _reitres_ being as ignorant as he of the attack precipitated by the -gypsies, there was no risk that the marquis would learn it from another -mouth than his when the proper moment should arrive. - -But would that moment arrive? The present situation would have seemed -desperate to an experienced person, and the marquis, who knew only a -part of it, deemed it very serious. But Mario had the happy faith of -childhood: he saw only half of the danger. - -"If we escape from here, as I hope," he thought, "my father and I will -have a hearty laugh at the figure we cut at this moment!" - - -[Footnote 8: The _reitres_ were still called _lansquenets_ in France, -although they no longer carried lances.] - - - - -LIII - - -In truth, the poor marquis, disguised as a cook, was very laughable. - -He had done the work conscientiously. He had taken off his wig and -concealed his bare skull beneath an oilcloth cap shaped like a -cake-mould. - -His face, thus bereft of its ebon curls, and smeared with soot, was not -recognizable; nor were his great white hands, which were stained to -correspond with his face. - -He had succeeded in hiding his fine white shirt under a countryman's -smock, and was shod in shabby felt slippers; a coarse apron, thrown over -the whole, covered his broadcloth breeches, which were not very -magnificent, for he had attired himself very simply for the projected -nocturnal expedition to Brilbault, which circumstance proved to be very -fortunate in this emergency. - -Being informed by Mario that Macabre seemed to be a stupid, -vain-glorious clown, he realized that it was his cue to inspire -confidence in him, and at the outset he saw that no flattery would be -too rank for him to swallow. - -"Illustrious and gallant captain," he said, bowing to the ground, "I beg -you to excuse my poor fool of a wife, who did not know what a great -warrior and scholar we had under our roof. It is quite true that I am -ill with the gout, but your affable and martial air would bring the dead -to life, and I remember too well my service under your banner not to be -determined, though I must leave my life in my fires, to serve you to the -extent of such small talents as heaven has given me." - -"Good! good!" said Saccage to the captain, "there is nothing like -threatening! They are all claiming to have served under you." - -"That's all right," rejoined Macabre, "provided he serves me well now. -And after all, monsieur le lieutenant, it's not impossible that the old -fellow may have known me long ago, during the war in the province. I had -enough share in it for everybody to remember me. Scullion! you may tell -me of your campaigns at dessert, for I see from your manner and your -gait that the gout hasn't spoiled the carriage of a soldier. You have a -curious odor about you," he added, referring to the perfumes with which -the marquis, despite his disguise, was thoroughly impregnated; "it -smells like confectionery! No matter! I will bet that you have been a -lansquenet in your day, eh?" - -"I was one for a whole year," replied Bois-Doré, who knew by heart the -whole of Master Pignoux's checkered existence and Macabre's villainous -youth. "Why, I saw you worry the Huguenots of Bourges during the -massacre in the prisons, in company with that terrible vine-dresser who -was called _Le Grand Vinaigrier_." - -"Oho!" cried the Italian, glancing at his captain with a mocking air, -"didn't I tell you that you were a great Papist, my captain?" - -"Everything in its season!" retorted Macabre, with philosophical -tranquillity; "my father, who was the captain of the great tower of -Bourges with the late Monsieur de Pisseloup, protected the poor heretics -in the province as well as he could. For my part, I fired crooked when I -couldn't do anything better. But I got back into the straight road, and -I am more sincere than you, Monsieur l'Italien, with your relics hidden -under your German breastplate." - -The Italian made a sharp retort, and Macabre, angry with him for raising -his voice in presence of his pages and his men-at-arms, although they -understood very little French, bade him be silent, and asked the marquis -what he could give him to eat. - -Bois-Doré, who had referred to the incident of the Catholic massacres -only to see in what waters young Macabre was sailing since he had grown -old, felt more at ease. - -This leader of partizans could not be acting under the patronage of the -Prince de Condé. The marquis's knowledge was sufficiently extensive to -enable him to talk of culinary matters like a man who knows his ground, -and as, during his stay of two hours at the inn, he had discussed this -momentous question with Madame Pignoux, to pass the time away, he was -quite familiar with the contents of the pantry and the resources of the -cellar. - -"We shall have the honor to offer you," he said, "a quarter of wild-boar -seasoned with spices, which will commend itself to you; a fine mess of -Issoudun crabs cooked in beer----" - -"And well peppered, I hope," said the captain. "My wife loves -highly-seasoned dishes." - -"We will put in a taste of Spanish pimento." - -And, having enumerated all the dishes, the marquis added: - -"But would not your illustrious lady like some sweet dishes after the -joint?" - -"The devil! yes. I had nearly forgotten that she recommended a certain -_omelette au musc_." - -"Perhaps your lordship means _aux pistaches_? That is a dish of my own -invention." - -"The deuce you say! She told me that it was invented by the old man." - -"The old man? Who dares, boast of having discovered before me the -_omelette au riz_ and _aux pistaches_?" - -"Faith, old Bois-Doré, if I must mention that idiot of idiots in good -company!" - -Bois-Doré bit his lips. - -"Who, pray, does the marquis the honor to repeat his absurd boasts?" he -said. "Does madame your wife deign to know him?" - -"It would seem so!" retorted Macabre, "and I know, also, my old rascal, -that you are that triple hound of a false marquis's humble servant, and -that he taught you how to cook; but I don't care a straw! You are -watched and your ears will answer to me for your ragouts." - -The marquis saw that he had no other resource than to speak ill of -himself, and he did not spare himself, ridiculing his own rank and -character in most amusing terms; but he could not decide to couple with -his accursed and calumniated name the epithet _old_, which his -contemporary Macabre insolently used to decry him. - -The captain persisted in a most offensive way. - -"That old dyspeptic must be pretty well broken up," he said, "for when I -saw him last he was like a long lath, with no beard on his chin, and I -nearly broke him in two by mistake." - -"Indeed?" said Bois-Doré, recalling the youthful adventure which he had -recently related to Adamas; "did you do him the honor of measuring -swords with him?" - -"No, my good man, I didn't stoop to that. He was on horseback, carrying -munitions of war to our enemies. I took him by one leg and, stretching -him at my feet, I left him for dead and seized his convoy." - -"Which consisted of powder and ball?" queried Bois-Doré, unable to -refrain from laughing inwardly at the absurd boasting of the man whom he -had overturned with a kick, and at the remembrance of that famous stock -of munitions of war, consisting of children's toys. - -"It was a good capture!" replied the captain. "But we have talked -enough, old jabberer! Go downstairs and have an eye to everything." - -Bois-Doré, relegated to his ovens, was compelled to leave Mario, whom -the captain detained. - -As he left the room he cast a glance at his son: a glance of intense -apprehension, which the child returned with one of the utmost -confidence. He felt that Macabre was not ill-disposed toward him. - -"Now, my boy," said the captain, "come here and tell me, if you can, who -you are!" - -"Faith, I don't know anything about it; captain," replied Mario, who had -not had time as yet to forget the gypsy mode of speech; "I was stolen or -picked up on the road somewhere by the dark-skinned devils called -Egyptians." - -"What can you do?" - -"Three fine things," replied Mario, opportunely remembering La Flèche's -lofty maxims: "fast, watch, and run; with that we can go a long way and -get out of any scrape." - -"He's a sharp boy," said Macabre, glancing at his lieutenant, who, to -display his ill-humor, had turned his back on him, sitting astride his -chair, his head and hands resting on the back, and his side to the fire. -Macabre considered his position disrespectful, and told him so in -cynical terms. Saccage rose without speaking and left the room. - -Mario observed everything, and the discord between the two leaders -seemed to him a good omen. He determined to take advantage of it, if -possible, and if opportunity offered. - -Macabre resumed the conversation with him. - -"How does it happen," he said, "that I didn't see you at Brilbault last -night?" - -Mario was not long embarrassed by that question. - -"I wasn't there," he said; "I was collecting chickens in the -neighborhood, just to save them from the foxes and the pip." - -"Do you know how to steal chickens? Well, that is a natural -accomplishment which may be very useful. But tell me if the Spaniard -finished his dying?" - -"Monsieur d'Alvimar?" said Mario, beginning to understand Pilar's story, -and no longer to look upon it as a dream. - -"Yes, yes," said Macabre, "that dog of a Papist who turned my stomach -with his prayers!" - -"He died this morning." - -"He did well, the lunatic! And what about Sancho? He's much more of a -man; bigoted as he is, he understands matters. Where is he now?" - -"He is hiding." - -"Why doesn't he join me here?" - -"As I told you, you are in danger here, and he knows it." - -"What danger? Will old Pignoux betray us?" - -"No, the poor man doesn't know anything at all about it; what could he -do against you?" - -"But from whom are we in danger?" - -"A party of gentlemen who are looking for you at Brilbault at this -moment, and who will soon pass here, with a big escort, on their way to -sleep at Briantes." - -"Did you see them?" - -"Yes." - -"How many of them are there?" - -"Perhaps two hundred mounted men!" said Mario trying to frighten his -man. - -"So the plan is discovered, is it?" said Macabre, evidently shaken. - -"It seems so!" - -The captain seemed to reflect, in so far as his stony or, more -accurately, his horny face could be said to denote any mental -preoccupation. - -Mario's heart beat fast under his rags. For a moment he thought that his -stratagem would be successful and that Macabre would decide to retrace -his steps. But the captain began to talk German with his scouts, who -left the room at once, and Macabre resumed his graceful attitude, one -leg thrown over the andiron, the other across the chair the lieutenant -had left. - -Mario ventured to question him. - -"Well, captain," he said, "are you going to turn back?" - -"To Linières? No, indeed, my little monkey! My horses are tired and my -men too. For my own part I slept so tittle at Brilbault last night that -I propose to make it up here. Woe to the man who disturbs me!" - -These plans for slumber aroused hope anew in Mario's heart. - -"If these people are very tired," he thought, "a moment will come when -we shall be able to escape." - -He did not, as the marquis did, rely upon the arrival of his friends and -servants. Pilar, by advising them of the capture of the _basse-cour_ at -Briantes, would lead them to hurry thither instantly, expecting that the -marquis would take the same direction; for the little gypsy, whose -intellect was shrewd beyond her years, would not fail to tell them that -Mario had started off to warn his father. - -As he was making these reflections, Lieutenant Saccage re-entered the -room, and, addressing Macabre, who was dozing before the fire, said in a -half-humble, half-insolent tone: - -"Allow me to inform you, captain, that, thanks to your plan of dividing -us up into small parties, we lose much time; your wife and her party -have not arrived, and if you sit a long while at table, as you usually -do, our whole plan may fail. The proper course would be not to have a -feast, but to eat quietly, sleep a couple of hours, and go forward -before the passers-by have time to speed the news of our coming." - -"Detain the passers-by!" rejoined Macabre, calmly. "Didn't we agree on -that? You will have no great task, for we didn't meet a cat from -Linières here, and this country's as empty as a church in '62. But -these are useless words. I hear my Proserpine's voice. She comes! Let us -go to meet her!" - -As he spoke, Macabre rose with an effort and went down to the kitchen. - -"The captain's growing old!" said Saccage, in Italian, to one of the -farriers who stood like statues in front of the door. - -"No," was the reply, "he has taken a wife, and that is worse! He thinks -of nothing but carousing, and he doesn't know when it's time to march." - -Mario, who was studying Latin with Lucilio, understood the substance of -this colloquy, and followed the lieutenant and the two troopers to the -kitchen. - -As soon as he arrived there, paying no heed to the new arrivals who were -crowding through the door, he glided to Bois-Doré's side, who was -cooking for dear life with Madame Pignoux, saying to himself that the -sooner the enemy was at table, the sooner there might be some -opportunity to escape. - -"Ah! here you are, my child," said the marquis in an undertone; "have -they maltreated you?" - -"No, no," said Mario, "the captain and I are on the best of terms. Let -me help you, father. We can talk while they are not thinking about us." - -"Very well, but we must not look at each other; watch me when I speak to -the hostess.--Madame Pignoux, give me the butter!" he called aloud; then -added in an undertone: "What is going on by the door, my good woman?" - -"A lady dismounting from her horse. Don't turn round, she may happen to -know you." - -"Mustard, boy!" said the marquis, tapping Mario on the shoulder.--"Don't -you turn either," he whispered in his ear.--"Madame Pignoux," leaning -toward the hostess, "try to see her face." - -"I don't recognize her," said La Pignoux; "she has a mass of hair and -feathers. She's a powerful woman!" - - - - -LIV - - -Our three friends were standing at the end of the kitchen by the oven, -with their backs to the door and their faces turned toward a window, -through which they could see the figures of the sentinels walking to and -fro outside, carbine in hand. - -There were two on each side of the house; an unnecessarily large supply, -for the house had only two doors, one opening on the road, the other of -the pantry, opening on a small garden enclosed by a hedge. - -All the windows on the ground-floor and first floor were provided with -stout bars. It was hopeless to think of forcing their way out. - -And yet the marquis sighed with impatience. - -"Ah! my son, why are you here?" he said to Mario. "With this stout -kitchen knife I could soon get rid of the two sentinels walking back and -forth in front of the pantry door. But with you--I should not dare; I am -a coward." - -"And if my man was here," rejoined Madame Pignoux, "old as he is, he and -Jacques would take care of the others. But I am very much afraid they -have killed my poor servant! Good God! there he is! Just see how those -devils have treated him! He's all covered with blood!" - -Jacques le Bréchaud, so-called because he was gap-toothed,[9] was ugly, -crafty and bad-tempered, but brave and devoted. - -"Don't pay any attention to me," he said, "but give me a dish-clout to -wipe my face." - -"Why, they have split your head open, my poor fellow!" said the marquis, -passing him his lace handkerchief, which he found in his breeches, -pocket. - -Mario seized the handkerchief, which might have betrayed their identity, -and tossed it into the hot fire, where it disappeared like a match. - -Jacques wiped away the blood and bandaged his wound with a napkin. - -"Don't be alarmed," he said to Madame Pignoux; "they let me come here to -wait on them. Give me the larding-knife, and the night shall not pass -without my ripping up one or two of them." - -"You will get yourself killed," said the hostess. "That's of no -consequence," replied Jacques. - -"But you will get us killed too!" - -"Jacques," said the marquis, "look at this child, and don't say a word. -Help him to leave this house, if you can, but be prudent if you love -us." - -Jacques glanced stealthily at Mario, and, without making any reply, went -several times to the pantry, as if to attend to his duties, but in -reality to examine the men who were pacing back and forth with the -regularity of machines. - -"Those German curs!" he said to the marquis, "they don't eat nor drink -nor sleep until they have killed off everybody." - -"And they know what discipline means too!" rejoined the marquis, with a -sigh. "Ah! it can't be denied that the _reitres_ are stout soldiers! If -our good Henri had had ten thousand of them, he would have been king ten -years earlier!" - -"Cook, father, cook!" said Mario, "the lieutenant is looking at you!" - -"He may look at me all he chooses, my son; I know how to handle a -saucepan as well as Master Pignoux himself." - -"That's the truth," said the hostess; "anyone would swear that you had -studied cooking!" - -"I studied it in the field, Madame Pignoux; I have made a fricassee for -my Henri with my sword at my side and my helmet on my head. Who would -have dreamed that I would ever do the same for a Macabre and his better -half? She is some prostitute, I fancy!" - -At that moment Madame Proserpine's voice rose above the others, which -had drowned it thus far. - -"Pah! how it smells of burned fat!" she exclaimed; "it is enough to make -one sick! Let's go up; let's go up at once! Come, lieutenant, give me -your hand, _sacrebleu_!" - -Monsieur de Bois-Doré and his son glanced at each other then looked -down into their saucepans. - -This amazon, who, after conversing confidentially with the captain and -lieutenant at the door of the inn, now strode slowly across the kitchen, -resplendent in her warlike costume, and tossing beneath the multicolored -plumes of her headgear her abundant bright red mane, this Madame -Proserpine, the more or less lawful spouse of Captain Macabre, was the -marquis's former housekeeper, Mario's personal enemy, Guillette Carcat -of La Châtre, Bellinde of Briantes. - -"We are lost," thought the marquis; "she will surely recognize us!" - -"We are saved," thought Mario; "she does not recognize us!" - -And, to make his disguise more complete, he too enveloped himself in an -enormous apron which came to his chin, and passed his little -soot-begrimed hands over his red cheeks. - -Bellinde passed on without turning. But it was impossible to think of -flight. _Madame_ desired to be served instantly. - -The ex-housekeeper, formerly a prudish and demure damsel, had undergone -a sudden metamorphosis. On becoming the companion of an old -swash-buckler, she had adopted the military manners and the imperious -and shrewish tone which were the natural expression of her real nature, -long held in restraint and glossed over at Briantes. Her person had -developed with corresponding luxuriance. Being no longer obliged to -indulge secretly in stolen liquors and delicacies, she had abandoned -herself greedily to her gluttonous instincts. Being abundantly supplied -with money, provisions and spirits by the forethought of Macabre, who -always appropriated the lion's share of all booty, she drowned each day, -in the fumes of debauchery, the remorse and disgust born of her -subjection to a species of monster. - -The pleasure of doing nothing but ride about the country and issue -orders was also some compensation to her. The vicissitudes and excesses -of her new life as an adventuress had speedily altered her features and -almost doubled her size. Her face, naturally high-colored, had already -taken on the blotched, purplish appearance of dissipation and -over-indulgence. Proud of her luxuriant red mane, she allowed it to fall -over her shoulders with absurd ostentation, and bedizened herself, -without a trace of discernment, with all sorts of objects which Master -Macabre had collected, more frequently by treachery than in honorable -warfare. - -Madame therefore was in haste to eat and drink, after a long journey in -the saddle, and was overjoyed to think that she was to taste at last the -fine cooking of Master Pignoux, which she had so often heard extolled at -Briantes. - -It mattered little to her that five-and-twenty stout troopers--they were -miserable rascals by the way, we must not forget that--were waiting at -the door with empty stomachs. The dissatisfaction which her conduct -caused them did not disturb her in the slightest degree; she had no -suspicion of it, her idiot of a husband having given her the rank of -lieutenant and the command of a portion of his band, with whom she -shared her booty when she was in good humor, and who were devoted to her -from interested motives. - -The fifteen brigands whom she had brought, and who took possession of -the kitchen, while the others were relegated to the stables or ordered -to mount guard, displayed at first the greatest eagerness in the -preparation of her supper; they counted upon her leavings, and while -some laid the table, hustling and abusing the inn servants, others -spurred on Bois-Doré the _chef_, his supposed wife and Mario, the -improvised turnspit, to satisfy the lieutenantess's appetite as speedily -as possible. - -For this reason they could not think of exchanging a word or looking -toward the door. There was nothing to be done but cook, and cook they -did with might and main. - -This was one of the crises in the marquis's life, when he rose to the -occasion. - -He made ragouts worthy of a better fate, seasoned and dressed the -dishes, greased the spider and turned the omelet with the graceful ease -of a science which at last imposed respect on those cutthroats, despite -their impatience. - -As he was about to serve the soup, the marquis saw Jacques le Bréchaud -put out his hand as if to put in more salt. He instinctively declined -that uncalled-for assistance; but he was surprised to find that Jacques -persisted, and, on taking hold of his hand he saw that the salt had a -peculiar look. - -"Let me do it," said Jacques, "they like their soup well-salted." - -And his face wore a strange smile which impressed the marquis. - -"No poison, Jacques!" he whispered; "that is cowardly, and cowardice -brings bad luck! God alone can save us! Let us not anger God!" - -Jacques dropped the rat poison with which he had proposed to season the -soup for the charming guests of the _Geault-Rouge_. The marquis's -generous and sentimental outburst was inexplicable to him; but he -submitted to his ascendancy with a sort of superstitious awe. - -Bois-Doré handed the soup and the whole first course to Madame -Proserpine's bearded pages; he breathed a little more freely; they -seemed disposed to give him somewhat more liberty. - -Mario went to the door from time to time, indeed he might have made his -escape at that moment by pretending to go out to the shed to fetch wood; -but he was careful not to mention the fact to his father. He would have -insisted upon his taking advantage of it, and not for anything in the -world would the child have parted from him. - -"If my father is to be killed," he thought, "I will die with him; but I -shall not abandon the hope of saving him until the last moment." - -Madame Pignoux also began to hope. Madame Proserpine's men seemed more -insolent but somewhat less forbidding than those who had been in the -kitchen before. - -They were almost all Frenchmen and young. They issued their orders as -cynically as the others; but there was a sort of boisterous gayety in -their manner which might mean that they were good fellows at bottom, or, -at least, that they might forget themselves for a moment. - -But an order from the top of the stairs fell like a thunderbolt on the -captives: Madame Proserpine summoned Master Pignoux and his wife to her -presence. - -"I will come, I am coming, as fast as I can!" cried the hostess, -hurrying upstairs. - -And she appeared before the lieutenantess and respectfully requested to -know her wishes, taking care not to seem to recognize her, or else to -humble herself before her as a personage of vastly greater consequence -than the servant who used to take the marquis's little dogs out to walk. - -"My orders were for your husband to appear also," observed La Bellinde, -flattered by Madame Pignoux's submission. "Go and call him, my good -woman." - -"Excuse me," said La Pignoux, "my husband is in a terrible heat, and too -much smoked up to appear in a dirty cap and apron before a lady like -you." - -"Do you think that you are more enticing, you old gallows-bird?" cried -the captain. "Bah! you can't fool me. I want to see the face of your -donkey of a husband, and no excuse will go down. Look you, rascals," he -said to La Proserpine's attendants, "how happens it that when your -lieutenant gives an order, you make her repeat it? Death of my life! -Must I go myself and fetch that double-dyed traitor?" - -At that moment, Bois-Doré, who had been compelled by force to ascend -the staircase, was pushed into the room, and so roughly that he -well-nigh fell on his knees at La Proserpine's feet. - -Poor Mario followed, trembling with fear for him and with wrath against -the villainous troopers. If his old father had fallen, the child would -have lost patience and have defended him at the risk of being cut in -pieces. - -Luckily for them both, the marquis did not lose his head and determined -to risk everything, staking his fate on the success of his disguise. - -As luck would have it, Proserpine paid no heed to his features. She knew -the genuine Pignoux very well; she did not deign to raise her eyes to -his face at once, engrossed as she was by the exceedingly familiar -homage paid to her by Lieutenant Saccage, who, being seated by her side, -made the most of every moment when Macabre was not watching them -closely. - -Thus the marquis was able to take his stand behind Proserpine, in the -attitude of a humble retainer awaiting orders; and, with a clever -manœuvre he caused Mario to stand behind him. - -"Ah! there you are at last, gallows-bird!" cried the captain, bringing -his fist down on the table. "Your fear betrays your treachery, and I see -through your vile schemes!" - -Bois-Doré, believing that he was detected, was on the point of casting -his disguise to the winds and making such use of the carving-knife as to -be sure of dying without ignominy; but Mario was there and paralyzed his -courage. In his uncertainty as to the meaning of the words addressed to -him, he refrained from replying and thus allowing La Proserpine to hear -his voice. - -He contented himself by staring at Macabre with a self-possessed air. -That was, although he did not know it, the wisest attitude he could -assume. - -"Zounds! will you speak?" roared the captain, who had seemed somewhat -disturbed and was evidently reassured by his innocent air. "You play the -simpleton, you miserable rascal! but you must know that by failing to -come here yourself so that we could pull your ears to bring you to your -senses, you disregarded all the rules and all the proprieties of your -beastly trade." - -Bois-Doré, being determined not to speak, made a gesture equivalent to -an interrogation point, with a shake of the head which seemed to say: -"What is all this about?" - -"Have you lost your tongue, with which you chattered so fast a little -while ago?" continued Macabre; "or have you never learned, you triple -idiot, that a landlord ought always to be the first to taste the food -and drink he provides? Do you think that I am so sure of you that I am -willing to take the risk of poison? Come, be quick about it, you -infernal beast, swallow what you see on this plate and in this goblet, -or _mordieu_! I'll make you swallow my sword!" - -As he spoke he pointed to a plate on which he had placed a portion of -all the dishes on the table and a goblet filled with wine from all the -jars. - -The marquis was greatly relieved when he learned why he was wanted, -especially as La Proserpine did not glance at him when he stooped over -the table to take the plate and the glass. - -The custom of requiring an inn-keeper to taste his dishes had fallen -into disuse since the close of the great civil wars, in the central -provinces at least; travellers had ceased to exercise that privilege, as -inn-keepers had ceased to require travellers to disarm before entering -their houses. - -But Macabre acted as if he were in a conquered province, and it was -useless to argue with the stronger party. So the marquis performed his -task courageously, with a smile of disdain for the affront put upon his -honor. He swallowed the contents of the plate and glass in silence, -bestowing upon Jacques le Bréchaud an eloquent glance, which said: - -"Generosity brings good luck, you see, Jacques!" And Jacques, who adored -the marquis, crossed himself and returned to the kitchen. - - -[Footnote 9: _Brèche-dents._] - - - - -LV - - -Everything went well. - -Macabre and his subordinates, crushed by the haughty glance and haughty -silence of the majestic cook, were delighted to be able to do honor to -his toothsome dishes, and perhaps he would not have been required to -appear again; but an unfortunate moment of distraction on his part -spoiled everything. - -La Proserpine dropped the feather fan which she carried in her belt, -with a dagger and two pistols; and with the fatal instinct of courtesy -which never failed him, even with respect to his housekeeper, the -marquis stooped to pick up the trinket, which he handed to her with -suppressed excitement, realizing his blunder too late. - -There was an expression of surprise and uncertainty in La Proserpine's -eyes for a moment, a moment that seemed as long as a century; at last -the lady cried, putting her hand to her pistols: - -"May I die in torment if this is Master Pignoux!" - -"What? what does this mean?" cried Macabre in his turn. "Come here, old -turnspit, and show your dirty snout to the company. By the death of the -devil! if there's any trickery, and some scurvy spoil-sauce has usurped -the duties of chief cook, I'll make a skimmer of his hide!" - -The marquis did not listen to the brigand's threats; he felt that the -crisis had come, and pushed Mario out of the room, saying: - -"Go down stairs, my wife is calling you!" - -Then he turned resolutely and faced La Proserpine, and looked her in the -eye with that lofty dignity which only the brave man can summon to his -aid against cowardly adversaries. - -Despite her master's burlesque attire, Bellinde could not escape a -sensation of respect and remorse. She held in her hands the life of the -man whom she desired to humble and rob, but not to torture and murder. -She hesitated another moment, then said: - -"Faith, Master Pignoux, I do recognize you now! but _mordi_! you are -much changed! Have you been very sick, pray?" - -"Yes, madame," replied Bois-Doré, touched by her kindly impulse; "I -have had a fatiguing time in my house since I was compelled to part with -a person who served me well." - -"I know whom you mean," rejoined Bellinde. "She was a treasure whom you -didn't appreciate and turned out-of-doors like a dog. Yes, yes, I know -how it happened. You were entirely in the wrong, and now you regret it! -But it's too late, you see! she will never serve you again!" - -"She will do well never to serve anyone, if she can do without it; but I -flatter myself that, wherever she may be, she has not forgotten my -generosity to her. I dismissed her without a word of reproach and did -not treat her stingily; she may have told you so." - -"Enough; we will speak of this later. Serve us with your best, and now -go back to your work, old man. Go!" - -As he went out, he saw her whisper to one of her men. - -"We are saved!" he said to Mario in the hall. "She did not betray me, -and she has given orders to let us go." - -And the marquis, in his innocence, walked with Mario toward the kitchen -door; but he was much mistaken: La Proserpine had, on the contrary, -issued even stricter orders for the blockade. - -So they had no choice but to continue to busy themselves with the -composition of the famous _omelette aux pistaches_. - -About an hour passed without any perceptible change in this absurd yet -tragical situation. - -There was a great uproar in the dining-room. Macabre was shouting and -swearing and singing. There were alternations of brutal merriment and -brutal rage. - -This is what was taking place: - -Lieutenant Saccage was as outspoken and concise as his name. It seemed -ridiculous to him to prepare for a sharp and decisive blow, which -demanded a swift and silent march, by a supper which he well knew would -degenerate into a carouse. - -Macabre was a desperado addicted to all the excesses which were the real -motive of his expeditions. He had not, like his lieutenant, the -qualities of the shrewd speculator, and, if I were not afraid of -profaning words, I would say that, in his adventurous life, he wallowed -in a sort of drunkenness, which was the poetry, a sombre and brutish -sort of poetry, of that life. He was as much gypsy as thief, squandering -all he acquired, and rich only by fits and starts. - -The other amassed wealth in cold blood and put it aside. He understood -business, spent nothing in dissipation, and was hoarding a fortune. In -our day he would have been a sharper in higher station; he would have -cheated in a black coat and lived in good society, instead of scouring -the high roads and stripping wayfarers. - -Each century has its own peculiar methods of traffic, and during the -civil wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, brigandage was a -regular branch of industry, conducted on business principles. - -Saccage hoped to get rid of Macabre. He would not have dared to attack -him in front; but he did as monsieur le prince did with the King of -France: he urged his master into danger, calculating that a volley of -musketry would carry him off and leave his place empty for him. - -Guided by this idea, he strove to make himself agreeable to La -Proserpine, who had charge of the cash-box and the jewel-case; and the -lady, while handling her chance husband with care, did not discourage -the embryo husband whom the chances of war might make useful to her at -any moment. - -This system of coquetry was beginning to be manifest to Macabre, and he -was torn between his natural inclination to allow himself to be led by -the nose, and his desire to discipline his goddess in vigorous fashion. - -He was sorely tempted too, every moment in the day, to break the pitcher -over his rival's head, but he realized how essential the lieutenant's -activity and never-failing soundness of judgment were to him, who could -never resign himself to the necessity of remaining sober and living on -the alert. - -So that, fatigued by this alternation of angry outbreaks and -reconciliations, which was repeated at every halting-place, the captain -adopted the plan of drowning his cares in the vintage of the hills of La -Châtre, and, after talking much nonsense, began to feel an -unconquerable longing to take a nap, with his nose amid the remains of -a pie on his plate. - -Not until then could Saccage talk seriously with Proserpine. - -"You see, my Bradamante," he said, "that this old sot is good for -nothing, and if you follow my advice we shall leave him here to sleep -off his wine and go on and pillage the château. To-morrow, when we -return, we will pick up our noble commander, who would simply serve to -embarrass our expedition now." - -Proserpine was nourishing a newly conceived idea, a bold and -extraordinary idea, which she was careful not to impart to the -lieutenant. She pretended to accede to his wish to make all necessary -preparations for departure. - -"Go and see that the whole party have something to eat," she said; "I -will watch this sleeping man, and if he wakes I will give him more drink -so that he will go to sleep again." - -Saccage went down to the pantry, demanded that the whole stock of salt -pork and dried meats should be delivered to him, and then went to the -stable where his men and the captain's were quartered. - -The provisions and the wine were distributed under his eyes with careful -parsimony; he assured himself that the sentries were at their stations. -Proserpine's men were at table in the kitchen, regaling themselves with -the abundant broken meats from the officers' supper. - -Meanwhile the amazon summoned the chief cook, who found her warming her -stout, booted legs, in a masculine attitude. They were alone, for the -captain was snoring in his pie. - -"Sit you down, marquis, and let us talk," she said with a laughable air -of condescension. "It is necessary that you should understand your -situation and mine, and I will tell you much in a few words, for time -presses." - -The marquis seated himself without speaking. - -"I must tell you," continued the lady-brigand, "that when you discharged -me so discourteously from your château, I entered the service of Madame -de Gartempe, who was going away to the Messin country in Lorraine, where -she has large estates." - -"I know it," said the marquis, "you were employed by a lady of rank, and -you did not lower yourself. How does it happen----" - -"That I left her so soon? I had taken it into my head to be pious when I -was with you, because one likes to do the opposite of what one's masters -do; and that is why, finding my great lady too exacting for my -conscience, I turned to the Reformers, which served to make her dismiss -me, much more harshly than you did, I admit! - -"About that time there came to the Messin country a band of adventurers -of all nations, who had served under the gallant captain who is known -thereabout as the Bastard of Mansfeld; they had been beaten by the -Emperor's Catholic troops on the other side of the Rhine and were -seeking their fortune in Alsace and Lorraine. - -"Everybody was terribly afraid of those people, I myself with the rest; -but chance brought me in contact with one of them, whom you see here, -who, having saved a tidy sum, had just dismissed his men and was -thinking about returning to Bourges to settle down and end his days in -peace. He remembered Berry so well that we soon became acquainted, and -he offered me his heart and his hand. - -"I don't know why I hesitated to bind myself to him; but one thing that -is very certain, my dear marquis, is that your château will be taken -to-night and burned to-morrow morning." - -"So that is really the object of your expedition?" said the marquis, -affecting perfect tranquillity. "Was it you who suggested that idea to -Captain Macabre? I cannot believe that you are such a wicked and -revengeful person as that." - -"The idea did not come from me; but I unintentionally suggested it to -this rapacious beast, by imprudently mentioning your treasure. He no -sooner found out that you had such a thing than he overwhelmed me with -questions, and I, having no idea what he was coming at, gave him enough -details to satisfy him that it would be easy to seize it. The effect of -my imprudent words was increased by some letters which I was imprudent -enough to show him. One came from Monsieur Poulain, the other from -Sancho. Both of them gave news of Monsieur d'Alvimar; both believed me -to be still devoted to what they call good principles; and as it is a -good thing to have friends everywhere, I took care not to let them know -what company I was in. And so, my dear marquis, Macabre went off to -Alsace one day and hunted up several of his old _reitres_; he enlisted -some others who asked nothing better than to take the field again, and -took for his second in command Lieutenant Saccage, who is a clever and -intelligent man; and, when all that was done, he came to Linières, and -went from there last night, with some of his men, to Brilbault, having -arranged to meet the others to-night at this isolated inn." - -Bois-Doré listened with close attention, but succeeded in concealing -the surprise and anxiety which all these disclosures caused him. - -Recalling the ghosts at Brilbault, he mechanically looked at the wall of -the room in which he then was, and saw reproduced there the face with -the huge hooked nose and long moustaches, together with the plumed -helmet of Captain Macabre. It was the same profile that he had seen at -Brilbault, and doubtless Poulain the rector, whom he had thought that he -recognized, was also of the party. Moreover had he not heard from -Proserpine's lips that D'Alvimar had survived the duel at La Rochaille? - -He abstained from any reflection and confined himself to questioning the -lady, who confirmed all his apprehensions. - -D'Alvimar had been horrified beyond measure to find the Huguenot Macabre -by his deathbed. But Sancho had sworn to join the _reitres_, with as -many of the gypsies as would consent to accompany him, as soon as -D'Alvimar had breathed his last. - -"Macabre returned to Thevet this morning," added Proserpine, "where -Saccage and I were waiting for him, with our people camped outside the -town, where we were careful not to frighten or injure anybody. In that -way, thanks to the caution and good discipline of our troopers, we have -been able to ride more than a hundred leagues through France without -once having to fight. We passed ourselves off as mercenaries sold to the -king, and exhibited false commissions. By that means, you see, those of -our men who may want to go and seek their fortune in the Huguenot camp -or elsewhere will be able to get to Poitou. Macabre expects to give them -a free rein, reserving the right to decamp with your booty if he sees -that they are getting into any too unsavory business. And so, my dear -marquis, we are in a fair way to ruin you, and, unluckily for you, you -have thrown yourself into the hands of people who are fully determined -to take your life." - -"That is to say that my fate is in your hands," replied the marquis, -"and you tell me so to make sure that I understand how grateful I ought -to be to you. Rest assured, Bellinde, that my gratitude will not be -confined to words, and that, if you will abandon the plan of leading -these men to Briantes, it will be more profitable to you than to share -my property with this band of thieves!" - -"So far as that goes, I have told you, marquis, that I am not the -leader; but I can assist you to get rid of the captain and make the -lieutenant listen to reason, for he loves money better than fighting." - -"So you want a ransom for me and the château, do you? In the first -place, fix the amount for my person, which is, I confess, defenceless -and in your power. As for the château----" - -"As for the château, you are thinking that, when you are once free, you -will defend it! So you won't be free until we have got through with it, -unless----" - -"Unless I pay?" - -"Unless you sign, monsieur le marquis! for your signature is sacred to -anyone who knows, as your faithful Bellinde does, what the honor of a -gentleman like you is worth." - -"What do you want me to sign?" said the marquis, readily resigned to his -fate whenever money was in question. - -Proserpine kept silence for an instant. Her face assumed an expression -of diabolical malice, mingled nevertheless with a strange perturbation, -as if she were somewhat inclined to blush for her temerity. - -"Come, come," said the marquis, "speak, and let us have done with it at -once, before your companion wakes." - -"My companion is not my husband, as you must know, monsieur le marquis," -replied the amazon in a mincing tone. "He is very ugly and very -stupid--and, although you are no younger than he, you still have -attractions--to which I have not always been so insensible as I seemed." - -"What nonsense are you talking, my poor Bellinde? Come, a truce to -jesting. Let us have done!" - -"I am not jesting, marquis! I have always had an intense longing to be a -woman of quality, and, if I must conclude, this is my last and only -word: Be free! no ransom! Go, hurry home and defend your château, if I -cannot prevent them from attacking it; and whatever the result of the -affair may be, you will keep the promise you are going to put in -writing, to make me your lawful wife and sole legatee." - -"My wife, you!" cried the marquis, recoiling in utter stupefaction; "can -you dream of such a thing? My legatee? when Mario----" - -"Ah! there we are! the pretty boy is the stumbling-block. But never -fear, I will treat him well if he behaves to me as he ought, and at my -death your property can go back to him, provided that I am satisfied -with him." - -"You are mad, Bellinde!" cried the marquis, rising, "unless this is all -a game----" - -"It is not a game; and if you don't write at once what I demand," she -said, rising in her turn, "why, death of my life! I will wake the -captain and call my people upstairs!" - -"Have me murdered, if you think best," replied Bois-Doré; "I will never -give my consent to your mad whim! But understand that I will not allow -my throat to be cut like a sheep, and that----" - -The marquis, unsheathing his knife, had rushed toward the door to -receive the assassins, whom Bellinde, suffocated with anger, was trying -in vain to call, when Macabre suddenly staggered to his feet and threw -at his _wife's_ head a jug which would certainly have killed her if his -hand had been steadier. - -"Miserable slut!" he cried, chasing her about the room. "Ah! so you -propose to marry your old marquis, do you? Perhaps you think I am deaf, -and you don't know that Captain Macabre sleeps with one eye and one ear -open! Stay here, marquis! I have nothing against you, for you refused -the offers of this damned Potiphar. Stay here, I say! Help me catch this -she-devil! I propose to wring her neck in proper form and make a -drum-head of her skin!" - -Despite these alluring invitations, the marquis, leaving the lovers at -odds, had rushed into the hall, and Mario, terrified at the noise in the -dining-room, had started to go to him. But they could neither go up nor -down. On the one hand, Proserpine, pursued by Macabre, who was -belaboring her with the rung of a chair, tumbled upon them on the -stairs; on the other hand, the amazon's _reitres_ rushed to the spot to -adjust the conjugal dispute. - -It was soon done. - -La Proserpine, all dishevelled, rose and threw herself into the midst of -them, and they, with no respect for the captain, seized him roughly, -carried him back into the dining-room and locked him in there, laughing -at his outcries and his threats. - -Proserpine, accustomed to these tempests, was not long in recovering -herself. She had no sooner swallowed a glass of gin, which one of her -pages handed her, than she looked about with the eye of a bird of prey -for her victim, who had taken refuge in a corner. - -"The cook, the cook!" she cried. "Bring the cook before me." - - - - -LVI - - -They dragged forward the marquis and Mario, who clung desperately to -him. - -Bellinde recognized the child at the first glance, and her face, -blanched by fear, flushed purple with savage joy. - -"My friends," she cried, "we have the wild boar and the shote, and -there's a chance for a handsome ransom for us, for us alone, you -understand! no sharing with the Germans,"--she designated thus the -captain's _reitres_,--"nor with Monsieur Saccage and his Italians! The -Bois-Doré and the young one belong to us alone, and _vive la France, -tudieu_! Pen, paper and ink--and quickly! The marquis must sign his -ransom! I know all about his property, and I warrant you that he'll not -conceal any of it from me! A thousand gold crowns for each of these fine -fellows, do you hear, marquis? and for myself the promise that I asked -of you." - -"I will give you my whole fortune, wicked woman, if my son's life is -spared. Give me the pen--give it to me!" - -"No," replied Proserpine. "It is not your property alone that I want, -but your name, and you must sign the promise of marriage." - -The marquis would not have believed that the termagant would dare to -announce her aspirations before witnesses. But the _reitres_, far from -being scandalized, applauded, as if it were a most excellent trick, and -the blood mounted to Bois-Doré's face in his intense abhorrence of the -abject and absurd rôle assigned to him. - -"You ask too much of me, madame," he said, shrugging his shoulders; -"take my gold and my estates, but my honor----" - -"Is that your last word, old idiot? Come hither, comrades! a rope, and -string up this brat!" - -As she spoke, the degraded creature pointed to a great iron hook -suspended from the ceiling in the kitchen, which was used to support the -weights of the huge spit. - -In a twinkling they seized Mario, who exclaimed: - -"Refuse! refuse, father! I will endure anything!" - -But the marquis could not endure for a second the thought of seeing his -child tortured. - -"Give me the pen," he cried; "I consent! I will sign whatever you -choose!" - -"Let us give him a jerk or two all the same," said one of the brigands, -beginning to attach the rope to Mario; "it will make the old fellow's -handwriting freer." - -"Yes, do so," said Proserpine. "That wicked child well deserves it." - -The marquis became frantic; but he soon calmed down when he looked at -his poor child, whose cheeks were white with terror despite his courage. -It was useless to resist. Mario was in their power. - -Bois-Doré fell at Proserpine's feet. - -"Do not torture my child!" he cried; "I yield, I submit, I will marry -you; what more do you want than my word?" - -"I want your hand and seal," was the reply. - -The marquis took the pen in his trembling hand, and wrote at the -dictation of that fury: - -"I, Sylvain-Jean-Pierre-Louis Bouron du Noyer, Marquis de Bois-Doré, do -promise and swear to Demoiselle Guillette Carcat, _alias_ Bellinde, -_alias_ Proserpine----" - -At that point a terrible uproar was heard outside, and Proserpine's men -rushed to the door. - -The tumult was caused by the captain's Germans, who, being summoned by -him from the window, hastened to set him free. The guards at the door -were Italians of Saccage's command, and their orders were not to allow -any person to go in or out. - -The three troops were constantly quarrelling among themselves, like -their leaders, who upheld their own men while striving to keep them -apart. But this time it was impossible; Saccage, who had also been -attracted by Macabre's outcries, and thought that Proserpine was in the -act of doing away with her tyrant, exerted himself to prevent the -Germans from going to his assistance. As for the lieutenantess's -Frenchmen, they had no love for either of the other factions; and they -all began to attack one another, without resorting to their weapons as -yet, but abusing one another savagely, and fighting with hands and feet. - -This uproar was accompanied by the crashing of furniture in the room -above, where Macabre was fighting like a demon to set himself free, and -by the piercing shrieks of La Proserpine encouraging her partizans, for -she was beginning to fear for her own life if they should be worsted. - -We may imagine that the marquis did not await the result of the combat -before thinking of flight. In one bound he was at his son's side, trying -to unbind him, but the knot was so artistically tied that, in his -excitement, he was unable to untie it. - -"Cut it! cut it!" said Madame Pignoux. - -But the old man's hand trembled convulsively. He was afraid of wounding -the child with the knife. - -"Let me do it!" said Mario, pushing them both away. - -And with perfect self-possession he skilfully untied the knot. - -The marquis took him in his arms and followed the landlady and her -maid-servant, whom he saw running toward the pantry. - -As he left the house he nearly fell at the threshold. A body lay across -the doorway; it was Jacques le Bréchaud's. He was dead; but beside him -lay the bodies of two _reitres_, one run through with a spit, the other -half beheaded with the larding-knife, Jacques had had his revenge, and -had cleared the path. His ugly but powerful face wore a terrifying -expression; it seemed to be contracted by a triumphant laugh, and the -teeth were parted as if they would bite. - -The marquis saw at a glance that there was nothing to be done for the -poor fellow. He held Mario close to his breast and ran as fast as he -could. - -"Put me down," said the child, "we can run better. Please put me down!" - -But the marquis fancied that he could hear the clicking of the terrible -flint-lock pistols behind him, and he wished to make his body a rampart -for his son. - -When he found that he was out of range, he decided to let him run too, -and they hurried toward the thicket where the half-ruined roof of the -former hostelry lay hidden. - -As they ran they saw Madame Pignoux and her servant also making their -escape. Those two old women made their hearts ache. But to call them -would be to destroy them and themselves with them. They were running -across the fields, apparently heading for some hiding place known to -them as a place of safety. - -The Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré leaped upon their horses. They were -very careful not to descend the Terrier by the road, but took one of the -narrow paths, bordered by tall blackthorns, which wind about between the -fields. - -The battle of the _reitres_ might end abruptly at any moment. They were -well mounted and able to follow close upon their prey; but the light -gallop of Rosidor and Coquet made little noise on the wet earth, and as -the path they were following was constantly intersected by others, the -pursuers would have to separate to overtake them. - -The first and most essential thing was to gain ground; so the -Bois-Dorés thought of nothing at first but throwing the enemy off the -scent by plunging at random into that labyrinth of muddy paths, which -became blinder and blinder as they approached the valley. - -After about ten minutes of hard riding, the marquis drew rein and bade -Mario do likewise. - -"Halt!" he said, "and open your sharp ears. Are we pursued?" - -Mario listened, but the hard breathing of his breathless horse prevented -him from hearing well. - -He dismounted, walked away a few steps and returned. - -"I can hear nothing," he said. - -"So much the worse!" said the marquis; "they have finished fighting and -they must be thinking of us. Mount again quickly, my boy, and let us -ride on. We must succeed in reaching Brilbault, where our friends and -servants are." - -"No, father, no," said Mario, who was already in the saddle. "There is -no one left at Brilbault now. We must ride to Briantes by the -cross-road. Oh! please don't hesitate, father, and be sure that I am -right. I am perfectly certain of what I say." - -Bois-Doré yielded without understanding. It was no time for discussion. - -They rode in a straight line toward the hamlet of Lacs, through the -great grain-growing tract which, as it all belonged to the seignioral -estate of Montlevy, was not, at that time, cut up into many smaller -parcels enclosed by hedges. - -Our fugitives rode half the distance without seeing any bands of mounted -men on the road, which they followed on a parallel line at a distance of -two or three gun-shots. - -To the marquis's mind this was a bad sign. The quarrel among the -_reitres_ could not have been prolonged until then. As soon as the -Germans discovered that Macabre was not being assassinated, but was -simply locked into the room because of drunkenness, the whole trouble -would subside, and La Proserpine was not the woman to forget the -prisoners, for whom she hoped to obtain a substantial ransom, if nothing -more. - -"If they don't come down upon us by the travelled road," thought the -marquis, "it must be because they have seen us crossing the flat, and -are waiting for us by the wood of Veille, in the sunken roads with which -Bellinde is probably familiar. Perhaps the knaves are nearer to us than -we think; for the mist is becoming dense, and I am beginning to be -doubtful whether those figures I see yonder are young oaks or mounted -men waiting for us." - -He stopped Mario again to tell him of his apprehensions. - -Mario looked at the trees and said: - -"Let us go on! there are no mounted men there." - -They rode forward. But as they skirted the copse which, at that time, -extended to the farm of Aubiers, they suddenly found themselves at close -quarters with a party of horsemen who were approaching at their right, -and who shouted "Halt!" in resounding tones. - -They were French voices, but Bellinde's adventurers were Frenchmen. - -The marquis hesitated an instant. It was no easy matter to recognize -those men, who were still in the shadow of the trees, while the -Bois-Dorés were far enough in the open to be fully exposed to them. - -"Let us ride straight on!" said Mario. "If they are not enemies, we -shall soon find it out." - -"_Vive Dieu_!" replied the marquis, "they must be the _reitres_, for -they are following us! Ride hard, my dear child." - -And he thought: - -"May God give my poor horses strength of leg!" - -But the horses had travelled too far over the heavy ploughed land not to -have lost their first freshness, and the men behind them pressed them so -close that the marquis expected every moment to hear bullets whistling -about his ears. He lost ground by trying, in spite of Mario's -remonstrances, to keep behind him so that he might receive the first -discharge. - -One horseman, better mounted than the rest, almost overtook him and -shouted: - -"Will you stop, you knave, or must I kill you?" - -"God be praised, it is Guillaume!" cried Mario; "I know his voice!" - -They turned about and were not a little surprised when Guillaume charged -upon them and threatened to pull the marquis from his horse. - -"How now, cousin!" said Bois-Doré; "don't you recognize me?" - -"Ah! who in the devil would recognize you in that rig?" replied -Guillaume. "What is that white thing you have on your head, cousin, and -what sort of a petticoat are you wearing floating about your hips? I was -most anxious for news of you; then, when we approached, I thought that I -recognized your horse and Mario's. But I concluded that you were robbers -who had stolen the horses, perhaps after murdering you! Can that be -Mario? Upon my word, you are both arrayed in strange fashion!" - -"True," said the marquis, remembering his kitchen apron and his oilcloth -cap, which he had not thought, nor indeed had leisure to remove; "I am -not equipped as a warrior, and you will oblige me, cousin, by supplying -me with a hat and arms, for I have nothing but a kitchen knife at my -side, and we may have a fight on our hands at any moment." - -"Here, here," said Guillaume, handing him his own hat, and the weapons -of his most trusty servant; "put them on quickly and let us not delay; -for it seems that your château is in danger." - -Bois-Doré thought that Guillaume was ill-informed. - -"No," he said, "the _reitres_ were still at Etalié half an hour ago." - -"The _reitres_ at Etalié?" exclaimed Guillaume. "In that case we have -nothing to lose by hurrying, unless we want to be caught between two -fires!" - -There was no time for explanations; they galloped at full speed toward -Briantes. - -On the way Guillaume's troop was increased by Bois-Doré's servants, -who, after a vain search at Brilbault, had received the little gypsy's -warning, and were returning to the château at all risks, not placing -much faith in her message, but believing it to be some ruse on the part -of her comrades to throw them off the scent. - -They had decided to return only because Pilar had told them that their -master was warned and was himself returning; having failed to meet him -at the general rendezvous at Brilbault, they had concluded that the -warning, whether true or false, had been conveyed to him, and that it -would be useless to go to Etalié in search of him. - - - - -LVII - - -Monsieur Robin had not believed a word of Pilar's story. He had started -none the less with his escort, but had made no great haste, and it was -to be feared that he had fallen in with the _reitres_, for when the -others came in sight of Briantes he had not overtaken them. - -They were anxious too concerning Master Jovelin, who had started first -for Brilbault with five or six of the Briantes men, and whom they were -surprised not to pick up on the road, for they had ridden very fast; so -fast that they had no time to communicate these reflections to one -another. - -In many novels I have read of long conversations carried on between the -characters while their horses were cleaving the air and devouring space; -but I have never been able to understand how such a thing could be -possible in real life. - -Although it was about one o'clock in the morning, it was as light as at -noon-day when they rode through the village. The farm-buildings were in -flames. - -At that sight all doubt was at an end, and they rushed forward to attack -the tower of the _huis_, which was closed and defended by Sancho and a -few gypsies hastily collected by him when he first heard the gallop of -the new-comers. - -"What are we doing here, cousin?" said Guillaume to the marquis. "Our -people are too much carried away by their ardor and do not wait for -orders from anyone. We shall lose our best men, and probably gain -nothing! Let us take measures to work in a useful way." - -"Yes, to be sure," replied Bois-Doré, "try to keep them back. A moment -more or less will not prevent my barn from burning; I care more for the -lives of those good Christians than for all my crops. Call them back and -calm them! I must attend first of all to this child, who causes me much -anxiety." - -As he spoke the marquis led Mario aside. - -"My son," he said, "give me your word as a gentleman not to stir until I -call you." - -"Why, father!" cried Mario in dismay, "you talk to me just as Aristandre -did a little while ago, and treat me like a baby in arms! Are these the -lessons in honor and gallantry you give me to-day, when you----" - -"Silence, monsieur, and obey!" said the marquis, speaking to his beloved -son for the first time in an imperious tone. "You are not old enough yet -to fight, and I forbid it!" - -Great tears came to the child's eyes. The marquis looked away to avoid -seeing them, and leaving Mario in charge of a small reserve force of his -faithful servants, he hastened to join Guillaume d'Ars, who had -succeeded in reducing his forces to order and submission. - -"It is quite useless," said the marquis, "to try to force the _huis_; -two men can hold it for an hour unless we choose to sacrifice a score of -our own men. Ah! cousin, it is all very well to fortify the _entrances_ -to the château, but it is extremely inconvenient when you want to get -in yourself. The moat is fifteen feet deep at this point, and the bank -is so steep, you see, that swimmers cannot land without being shot down -from the _moucharabi_. Do you know what we must do? Look! The barn has -fallen in. Well, it must have fallen into the moat and partly filled it. -That is where we must force our way in. I will go there with my people. -Do you stay here as if you were looking for boards and timbers to -replace the drawbridge, which is hoisted, to mislead the enemy, whom you -will prevent from escaping when we fall upon him. We, my friends," he -said to his servants, "will steal quietly along behind the wall; its -shadow will conceal us, notwithstanding the bright fire that is -consuming our crops." - -The marquis's plan was very judicious, and what he foresaw had actually -taken place. The moat was partly filled up and the wall crushed by the -fall of the barn. But it was necessary to pass over blazing débris and -through billows of flame and smoke. The horses recoiled in fright. - -"Dismount, my friends, dismount!" cried the marquis, riding forward at a -gallop into that hell. - -Rosidor alone plunged fearlessly into it, leaped all the obstacles with -marvellous agility, and, heedless of the risk of scorching his beautiful -mane and the ribbons with which it was tressed, gallantly bore his -master into the centre of the enclosure. - -The marquis's luxuriant hair was in no danger. It was still reposing -under the firewood at the _Geault-Rouge_. - -His servants, already intensely wrought up by the desire to rejoin and -rescue or else to avenge, their families, were electrified by their -master's courage, and several of them followed him closely enough to -prevent his falling into the hands of the enemy. But just as the bulk of -the party were passing over the red-hot ruins, a shout of alarm uttered -by one of the peasants of whom the party consisted, caused all the rest -to halt and rush back in deadly terror. - -The high gable end of the barn, which was still standing, began to crack -under the action of the intense heat, and swayed outward, threatening to -crush anyone who should attempt to pass. If they waited a second it -would fall; then they would pass, however difficult the undertaking. -That is what everyone thought, and they all waited. But seconds and -minutes succeeded one another and the wall did not fall. And those -seconds and minutes were centuries in the plight in which the marquis -was at that instant. With about half a score of his men, he was face to -face with the whole troop of gypsies, still numbering about thirty -combatants. - -Four hours had passed since Mario had escaped under the _sarrasine_; and -in those four hours the bandits had not once thought of gorging -themselves again. The first intoxication of their victory and the first -gluttony of their appetite had soon given place to the persistent hope -of obtaining possession of the château. They had tried all methods to -make their way in by surprise. Several of them had fallen, thanks to the -vigilance of Adamas and Aristandre, seconded by the presence of mind, -sound advice and incessant activity of Lauriane and the Moor. Finding -all their efforts unavailing, they had set fire to the barn, hoping to -induce the besieged to make a sortie in order to save the buildings and -crops. Not without expending vast treasures of eloquence did the sage -Adamas succeed in restraining Aristandre, who would have thrown himself -head foremost into the trap. Indeed it was necessary for Lauriane to -exert her authority, and to point out to him that, if he should fall in -his undertaking, all the poor creatures shut up in the château, -beginning with herself, were irrevocably lost. - -During the hour that the barn had been burning, Aristandre, in a frenzy -of exasperation, had exhausted all the oaths and imprecations in his -vocabulary. Condemned to inaction, he was fuming and fretting, and even -cursing Adamas and Lauriane, Mercedes and young Clindor, who also -preached patience--in a word all those who prevented him from -acting--when Adamas, who had climbed to the top of the tower-staircase, -shouted to him from the cupola: - -"Monsieur is there! monsieur is there! I can't see him, but he is there. -I will swear to it! for they are fighting, and I am sure that I -recognized his voice above all the rest." - -"Yes, yes!" cried Mercedes from one of the windows on the courtyard; -"Mario must be there, for little Fleurial is like a mad creature; he has -smelt him. Look! I cannot hold him!" - -"Aristandre!" cried Lauriane, "go out! Let us all go out; it is time!" - -Aristandre had already gone. Heedless whether anybody followed him or -not, he darted to the marquis's side and delivered him from La Flèche, -who, supple as a snake, had leaped to the saddle behind him, and was -suffocating him in his wiry, muscular arms, but could not succeed in -unhorsing him. - -Aristandre seized the gypsy by one leg, at the risk of dragging the -marquis with him. He hurled him to the ground and trampled upon him, -taking care to crush his ribs; then, leaving him there, dead or -unconscious, he threw himself upon the others. - -The servants of the château had gone out also, even Clindor, and even -poor little Fleurial, who slipped through the legs of the excited Moor, -ran between the legs of the marquis, who was too much engrossed to -notice him, and at last disappeared in the hurly-burly, to go in search -of Mario. - -Lauriane, intensely excited, armed herself and attempted to go out. - -"In heaven's name," said Adamas, placing himself in front of her, "do -not do that! If monsieur sees that his dear daughter is in danger, he -will lose his wits, and you will be responsible for his being killed. -And then you see, madame, there is nobody left here to help me close the -gate, which may be the salvation of our friends. Who knows what may -happen? Stay here to help me in case of need." - -"But the Moor has gone!" cried Lauriane. "Look, Adamas, look! the dear -creature is looking for Mario! She is following the little dog! Great -heaven! great heaven! Mercedes, come back! you will be killed!" - -Mercedes could not hear amid the din of the battle. Indeed, she did not -choose to hear: she was thinking of her child and nothing else. She was -literally passing through fire and steel; she would have passed through -granite. - -The marquis and Aristandre, being gallantly supported, were soon masters -of the field, and began to force the gypsies back; a part toward the -ruins of the barn, a part toward the tower of the _huis_. Those who -passed the high wall of the barn, heedless of its impending fall, were -greeted with pikes and clubs by the vassals of Bois-Doré, who had begun -to cross that dreaded strip of territory. - -They killed and captured several of them. The others turned back, and -the whole band, now numbering no more than a score, retreated along the -wall and entered the archway of the _huis_. - -"Put out the fire!" cried Bois-Doré, seeing that it was spreading to -the other farm buildings, "and leave us to complete the rout of these -curs!" - -He addressed the peasants and the women and children who had ventured -forth from the château; then hurried away with his servants to the -vaulted archway, where a strange battle was in progress between the -fleeing bandits and Sancho, the sole guardian of the exit. - -Sancho was guided by a single implacable idea. He had seen the marquis -place Mario, with an escort, out of range behind a house in the village. -The child was well sheltered and well guarded. But it was impossible -that he would not, sooner or later, leave that shelter and come within -range of an arquebus. - -Sancho was standing there on the watch, his gun-barrel resting on one of -the crenellations of the _moucharabi_, his body well hidden, his eye -fixed on the corner of the wall at which his prey would appear sooner or -later. The dark-browed Spaniard had the incalculable advantage that no -anxiety concerning his own life could turn him aside from his purpose. -He had no thought of the morrow in his mind, nor even of the passing -moment, pregnant with perils. He asked of heaven but a single moment to -gloat over and accomplish his revenge. - -And so, when the routed gypsies came and threw themselves, howling with -fear, against the heavy stakes of the _sarrasine_, Sancho moved no more -than the stones of the arch. In vain did frantic, desperate voices shout -to him: - -"The bridge! the portcullis! the bridge!" - -He was deaf; of what consequence were his confederates in his eyes? - -The gypsies were compelled to rush to the _chambre de manœuvre_, in -order to set themselves free. Their wives and children uttered piteous -cries. - -It was a counterpart of the scene of terror and confusion that had taken -place on that same spot a few hours earlier, among the bewildered -vassals of the estate. - -Bois-Doré, still mounted and surrounded by his men, had all that was -left of that horde of thieves and murderers in a cage. Their women, who -had become veritable furies in defence of their children, turned upon -him in the frenzy of desperation. - -"Surrender! surrender all of you!" cried the marquis, seized with -compassion; "I will spare you for the sake of the children!" - -But no one surrendered: the miserable wretches did not believe in the -generosity of the victor. They did not understand kindness--a rare -quality among the noblemen of that period, we must agree. - -The marquis was compelled to restrain his men, in order, as he said -afterward, to prevent a _massacre of the innocents_, if, indeed, there -were any innocents among those little savages, already trained to all -the wickedness of which they were capable. - -At last the _sarrasine_ was raised and the bridge lowered. - -Guillaume, who was as generous as the marquis, would have spared the -weak; but, to the great surprise of Bois-Doré, the fugitives passed -unhindered. Guillaume and his force were not there. - -"Ten thousand devils!" cried Aristandre, "those demons will escape. -Forward! forward! after them! Ah! monsieur, we ought to have chopped -them up into small pieces while we had them here!" - -He hurried away in pursuit, leaving the marquis alone under the archway, -now open and unobstructed. He was very anxious concerning Mario, but -dared not ride across the bridge for fear of riding down his own men, -who were on foot and crowding across that narrow thoroughfare to -overtake the fugitives. - -At last the bridge was clear. Victors and vanquished had passed out of -sight. The marquis was able to cross, and saw Mario coming toward him on -his right. The child thought that he might safely leave his place of -shelter now that the affray seemed to be at an end. - -So far as the bandits were concerned, there was apparently no further -danger; the fugitives had no thought but to escape as best they could in -any direction; some concealed themselves here and there with much art, -while the pursuers passed on. - -A single one of the defeated assailants had not stirred, and no one gave -a thought to him: that one was Sancho, who was still on his knees, -completely hidden, in a corner of the _moucharabi_. From that little -machicolated gallery he could have hurled stones down upon the men of -Briantes, for there was always a supply of them in the _chambre de -manœuvre_, of convenient size in respect to the openings. But Sancho -did not desire to betray his presence. He wished to live a few moments -longer; he was watching Mario approach, and taking aim at his leisure, -when he saw the marquis at the other end of the bridge, much nearer, -almost within reach. - -Thereupon a violent conflict took place in his mind. Which victim should -he select? In those days there were no double-barreled guns. The -distance between the father and the child was too short to allow him to -reload. - -In his struggle with Aristandre, Sancho had broken one of his pistols, -while the other was snatched from him by that powerful antagonist. - -By a refinement of vindictive hatred, Sancho decided to kill Mario. To -see him die would surely be more agonizing to the marquis than to die -himself. - -But that moment of hesitation had disturbed the equanimity of that -cold-blooded ferocity. He fired, and the bullet struck a foot below -Mario's breast, who was mounted on his little horse, and pierced the -body of the Moor, who had joined him and was walking by his side. - -Mercedes fell without a sound. - - -[Illustration: _MERCEDES WOUNDED BEFORE THE -CHÂTEAU._ - -"_Help, help, my friends!" cried Bois-Doré, finding -that he was alone with his son, and exposed to the -assaults of invisible foes._] - - -"Help, help, my friends!" cried Bois-Doré, finding that he was alone -with his son, and exposed to the assaults of invisible foes. - -His call was answered only by Lauriane and Adamas, who, when they saw -the bandits put to flight, had abandoned the tower of the huisset and -had come out to join the others. - -While they with the help of the distracted Mario raised the poor Moorish -woman from the ground, the marquis looked up toward the _moucharabi_ and -saw the tall figure of Sancho, who, recognizing the Moor, the original -cause of his master's death, was somewhat consoled for having missed his -aim. With no thought of escaping, he was hurriedly reloading his weapon. - -Bois-Doré recognized him at once, although that side of the tower was -only faintly lighted by the conflagration. But he had no loaded weapon, -so he jumped down from his horse and returned to the archway to go up to -the moucharabi, considering with good reason that D'Alvimar's avenger -was the most formidable of all the enemies with whom he had ever had to -deal. - -Sancho saw him coming, divined his purpose, and without pausing to hurl -projectiles which might miss him, he darted to the stairs leading to the -_chambre de manœuvre_, determined to stab him, his knife being the only -one of his weapons which was not at that moment useless. - -Bois-Doré was about to ascend the stairs, holding his sword over his -head, when he seemed to have a presentiment of the course so treacherous -an adversary was likely to pursue. - -He lowered the point of his sword and with it felt each stair in the -darkness, divining that Sancho was crouching somewhere there, on the -alert to pounce upon him and hurl him backward. He clung with one hand -to the rail therefore, but did not protect his body sufficiently. - -Sancho, warned by the ringing of the steel on the stairs, sprang to his -feet, leaped down several steps, and fell violently upon Bois-Doré, -whom he threw backward and seized by the throat; then, kneeling upon his -chest, he cried: - -"I have you now, accursed Huguenot! expect no mercy, as you had none -for----" - -Before concluding his sentence, he felt for the marquis's heart; then, -raising the knife in the other hand, added: - -"_For my son's soul_!" - -The marquis, stunned by his fall, defended himself but feebly, and it -was apparently all over with him, when Sancho felt upon his face two -tiny, faltering hands, which suddenly tore his flesh savagely, so that -he had to make a movement to rid himself of them. - -Instantly a sudden thought led him to relax his hold of the marquis. - -"The child first!" he cried. - -But the words were forced back into his throat, and the thought -interrupted in his brain by a terrible explosion. - -Mario had followed the marquis. He had heard him fall. He had felt in -the darkness Sancho's face. He had known from the feeling that it was -not Bois-Doré's. He had placed against that rough, hairy skull the -muzzle of a pistol snatched from Clindor as he passed, and had fired -point-blank. - -He had avenged his fathers death and saved his uncle's life. - - - - -LVIII - - -The marquis did not know at once what rescuing angel had come to his -assistance. - -He freed himself from the body of Sancho, whose bent knees were still -pressing upon him. He threw out his arms at random, thinking that he was -attacked by a new enemy, who had missed him. - -His arms came in contact with Mario, who was struggling to lift him, -exclaiming in a heart-broken tone: - -"Father, my poor father, are you dead?--No, you embrace me. Are you -wounded?" - -"No, it is nothing! just a little suffocated, that is all," replied the -marquis. "But what has happened? Where is that infamous knave?" - -"I think that I must have killed him," said Mario, "for he doesn't -move." - -"Do not trust him, do not trust him!" cried Bois-Doré, rising with an -effort, and dragging his beloved child to the foot of the stairs. "So -long as the serpent breathes, he tries to bite!" - -At that moment Clindor arrived with a torch, and they saw Sancho lying -inert and disfigured. He was still breathing, and one of his great -fierce eyes, glaring confusedly through the blood, seemed to say: "I die -twice over since you survive me!" - -"What! my poor David, did you kill this Goliath!" cried the marquis, as -soon as he began to collect his thoughts. - -"Ah! father, I killed him two minutes too late," replied Mario, who was -like one intoxicated, and whose grief returned with his memory; "I think -that my Mercedes is dead!" - -"Poor girl! Let us hope not!" said the marquis with a sigh. - -They recrossed the bridge to go to her, while Clindor, who was terribly -afraid that Sancho, contrary to all appearances, would rise again, -pierced the wretched creature's throat with a halberd. - -The Moor had risen to her feet. She insisted that they should pay no -heed to her, although she could hardly stand. She was grievously -wounded; the bullet had passed through her right arm, which was about -Mario's waist when the shot was fired; but she was thinking only of -Mario, who was no longer at her side; and when she found him there again -she smiled and lost consciousness. - -They carried her to the château, whither Mario and Lauriane accompanied -her, holding her hand and weeping bitterly, for they believed that she -was lost. - -The marquis remained outside. - -Guillaume's absence seemed to him of evil augury, and he rode forward, -fancying that he heard, on the higher ground, sounds of more serious -import than were likely to be caused simply by the capture or resistance -of a few fugitives. - -As he advanced, the sounds became more alarming, and when he emerged -from the ravine he saw a number of men, vassals of Ars and Briantes, -retreating toward him in disorder. - -"Halt, my friends!" he cried. "What is going on here, and how happens it -that brave fellows like you seem to be showing your heels?" - -"Ah! is it you, monsieur le marquis!" replied one of the demoralized -men. "We must return to the château and fight behind the walls; for the -_reitres_ are coming. Monsieur d'Ars being warned of their approach by -Monsieur Mario, rode back to meet them, and he is engaged with them. But -what can we expect to do against those fellows? They say a _reitre_ is -stronger and crueller than the Christians, and they have cannon too; -they would have used them against us already if they had not been afraid -of hitting their own men, in the confusion into which Monsieur d'Ars has -thrown them." - -"Monsieur d'Ars has borne himself gallantly and prudently, my children!" -said the marquis; "and if fear of the _reitres_ made you retreat, you -are not worthy to be in his service or mine. Go and hide behind the -walls; but I warn you that, if I am forced to fall back and shut myself -up in the château, I will turn you out as fellows who eat too much and -do not fight enough." - -These reproaches brought several of them to their senses; the rest took -flight; almost all of these were in Guillaume's service. They were not -cowards by any means; but the _reitres_ had left such terrible memories -in the province, and legend had added thereto such appalling and -prodigious details, that one needed to be doubly brave to face them. - -The marquis, attended by the stoutest-hearted of them, who already -blushed for their demoralization, soon joined Guillaume, who was leading -a gallant charge upon Captain Macabre. - -The darkness, which, however, had become much less dense, enabled -Guillaume to lie in ambush, in order to fall suddenly upon them and -prevent them from going forward to cannonade the château; for they -actually had a small field-piece, of which Bois-Doré, when a prisoner -at Etalié, had not suspected the existence. - -Everybody knows that a single paltry cannon would suffice to batter down -those little fortresses, which were skilfully disposed to repel the -assaults of besiegers in the Middle Ages, but utterly helpless in face -of modern siege guns. The most formidable castles of the feudal period, -in Berry, crumbled like card-houses under Richelieu and Louis XIV., when -the royal power undertook to put down the armed nobility; and it is -surprising to find how few soldiers and cannon-balls sufficed for such -great execution. - -It was most essential therefore for the marquis to prevent them, at any -cost, from approaching the château, and he dashed forward to support -Guillaume, who bore himself most gallantly despite the desertion of the -greater part of his force. - -But he soon had to fall back before the onset of the _reitres_, who had -the advantage of position as well as of numbers, and the battle seemed -lost when they heard the sounds of fighting at the enemy's rear, as if -they were caught between two fires. - -Monsieur Robin de Coulogne had come up with his men at the critical -moment. His moderation was providential. If he had followed the -_reitres_ more closely, he would have overtaken them sooner, and -probably would not have found them an easy prey. - -Thus hemmed in, the _reitres_ fought desperately, especially Macabre's -stout Germans, and La Proserpine's hot-headed Frenchmen. Saccage's -Italians gave way first, for they detested both Macabre and Proserpine, -and had not the slightest desire to die for them. - -They tried to steal away and reach the château by a détour; but they -were met on the road by Aristandre, who, having gone in pursuit of the -gypsies, knew nothing of the attack of the _reitres_, and fell upon them -without any idea as to who or what they were. - -As he had quite a numerous party, and as he laid the lieutenant low at -the outset, the others were speedily routed, and, fearing a fresh -display of generosity by Bois-Doré, the coachman lost no time in -despatching those who were taken, Lieutenant Saccage at their head. - -The latter's belt proved to be a valuable capture; but Aristandre did -not choose to appropriate it, but reserved it for general distribution. - -A moment later, as he was hurrying to join the marquis, he fell in with -one of the men who had accompanied Lucilio to Brilbault. - -"Ho! Denison!" he shouted to him, "what have you done with our -bag-piper?" - -"Ask me rather," replied Denison, "what those brigands of _reitres_ have -done with him. God knows! We started for Etalié with him to find -monsieur le marquis, but at the foot of the hill we were surrounded by -those devils, who pulled us from our horses and made us prisoners. At -first, they proposed to shoot Master Jovelin on the spot. They were -frantic because he did not reply to them, and they took his silence for -contempt. But there was a lady there who recognized him and said that -monsieur le marquis would pay a very big ransom for him. So they bound -him like the rest of us, and at this moment he and the other four of us -must either be free like me, or have been killed in the battle. As for -the lady, who was dressed like an officer, I don't know who she is; but -may the devil take me if you wouldn't say she was our Demoiselle -Bellinde!" - -"Well, Denison, let us go and see," replied Aristandre, "and let us save -all our friends if it can be done!" - -The honest coachman, as he ran, collected as many men as he could, and -attacked the flank of the _reitres_ skilfully and most opportunely. - -Assailed thus on three sides, and reduced to half their original number, -for Bois-Doré, Guillaume and Monsieur Robin had killed as many as -Saccage had taken away by his defection, the compact little battalion of -_reitres_ devoted their energies to effecting their retreat in good -order. But so small a force was too easily surrounded; their cannon, -which was with the rear-guard, had already fallen into Monsieur Robin's -hands. They could not even disperse. They were forced to surrender at -discretion, with the exception of a few who were blinded with rage and -whom it was necessary to kill, but not until they had inflicted some -damage upon their unmounted adversaries. - -Some time, was lost in disarming and binding the prisoners; for they -could hardly trust the promises of _reitres_; and day was breaking when -they all assembled, victors and vanquished, in the courtyard of the -château. - -The fire among the farm buildings was extinguished. The damage was -great, doubtless; but the marquis paid little heed to it; he wiped away -the perspiration and the powder which obscured his sight, and looked -about with much emotion in search of the objects of his affection: first -of all, Mario, who was not thereto congratulate him, which fact made him -fear that the Moor was in a bad way; then Lauriane, who made haste to -encourage him concerning Mercedes's condition; then Adamas, who was -kissing his feet in a frenzy of joy; then Jovelin and Aristandre, who -had not yet appeared, and his worthy farmer, whose death they concealed -from him; and lastly all his loyal retainers and vassals, whose number -had diminished during that fatal night. - -But, while he was asking for them all in turn, he interrupted himself to -inquire anew for Mario with sudden anxiety. - -Two or three times during his desperate combat with the _reitres_, he -had fancied that he saw his child's face hovering about him in the -twilight. - -"Ah! at last, Aristandre!" he exclaimed, as he spied the coachman on -horseback by his side; "have you seen my son? Answer me quickly!" - -Aristandre stammered some incoherent words. His great face was drawn by -fatigue and confused by inexplicable embarrassment. - -The marquis turned as pale as death. - -Adamas, who was gazing at him ecstatically, soon perceived his -suffering. - -"No, no, monsieur!" he said, as Mario jumped into his arms from -Squilindre's back, where he had been hiding behind the coachman's bulky -figure. "Here he is as fresh and sound as a rose from the Lignon!" - -"What were you doing there behind the coachman, monsieur le comte?" said -the marquis after embracing his heir. - -"Alas! my kind master, forgive me," said Aristandre, who also had -dismounted. "When I went to the stable to get Squilindre to carry me -against those devils of German horses, I just locked Coquet up so that -monsieur le comte could not ride him; for I had seen your demon--forgive -me! your darling son prowling around there, and I suspected that he -meant to run into danger. But, just as I was in the thick of the fight, -I felt something against my side! I didn't pay much attention to it at -first, it was so light! But lo and behold, I found I had four arms: two -long ones and two short ones. With the two long ones I managed my horse -and struck down the enemy; with the two short ones, I reloaded my -pistols, and handled my pike so quickly that I did the work of two men. -What would you have had me do? I was in a scrimmage where it wouldn't -have been a good thing for my little double to put him down on the -ground, so I kept on and came out of it whole, thank God! after -thrashing the enemy soundly, and riding down more than one villain who -wanted your life, which God preserve, monsieur le marquis! with this -brave old coach horse, who is an excellent war-horse at need, monsieur! -If I did wrong, punish me; but don't blame monsieur le comte; for, by -the name of--, he's a fine little--, who pounded those--Germans like -a--, and who will soon be a--, like you, master!" - -"Enough, enough flattery, my good fellow," rejoined Bois-Doré, pressing -the coachman's hand. "If you must teach your young master to disobey, at -all events do not teach him to swear like a heathen." - -"Did I disobey you, father?" said Mario; "you forbade me to attack the -gypsies, but you didn't say anything about the _reitres_." - -The marquis took his child in his arms, and could not resist the -temptation to exhibit him proudly to his friends, telling them how he -had rescued his uncle from the hands of the terrible Sancho. - -"Well, my young hero," he added, embracing him again, "it is useless for -me to try to keep you in leash; you are your own master. At eleven years -of age, you have avenged your father's death with your own hand, and won -your spurs of knighthood. Go and kneel at your lady's feet; for you have -earned the right to hope to win her heart some day." - -Lauriane kissed Mario fraternally without hesitation, and Mario returned -her caress without blushing. The moment had not arrived when their holy -friendship was to be changed into a holy love. - -They returned together to Mercedes, after relieving the marquis's mind -concerning Lucilio, who was an excellent surgeon and was already in -attendance upon her. Mario had not chosen to boast of having contributed -to the rescue of his friend, who had thereafter fought stoutly at his -side. - -The Moor was so overjoyed by Mario's return and by the tutor's nursing, -that she felt no pain from her wound. - -After it was dressed, Lucilio turned his attention to the wounded men, -even among the prisoners, whom they were making preparations to send, -under a strong escort, to the prison at La Châtre. - -The _reitres_ were sitting in the _basse-cour_, around the dying embers -of the fire, in dire discomfiture; Captain Macabre, who was drunk during -the battle and was severely wounded, did nothing but beg for brandy to -enable him to forget his misery; Bellinde was so terribly frightened -while the battle was in progress, that she was fairly dazed; which fact -saved her from feeling the humiliation of being exposed to the contempt -and reproaches of the servants and vassals whom she had so long despised -and disciplined. - -She was the object of some consideration on the part of the village -women because of her gorgeous costume, by which they were involuntarily -dazzled. - -But when Adamas learned of the preposterous attempt she had made to -force the marquis to marry her, and her manifest purpose to torture -Mario, he was so vehement in commending her to general execration, that -the marquis had to hasten her departure for the prison. He even had the -generosity, in spite of Adamas's remonstrances, to allow her to retain -her jewels, her purse and a horse to carry her. - -All the other horses belonging to the _reitres_, excellent beasts and -well equipped, as well as the weapons and the officers' money, were -distributed among the brave fellows who had taken them; nor would the -marquis keep any part of the booty for himself. He turned his attention -at once to the needs of his unfortunate vassals, who had been robbed and -maltreated by the gypsies. - - - - -LIX - - -They separated as soon as the prisoners had departed, in charge of -Monsieur Robin and a large escort of men of the neighborhood, who had -been attracted by the uproar of the battle, a little tardily perhaps, -but in time at all events to allow the combatants to procure the rest -which they sadly needed. - -Jean le Clope, who arrived among the last and was already half tipsy, -was overjoyed and highly honored to join the escort. He had an old -grudge against Captain Macabre, and had lost his leg in an engagement -with _reitres_. - -So he entered the town of La Châtre, with his nose in the air, assuming -the airs of Captain Fracasse, and telling everybody who chose to listen -that, _with his bright sword, he slew fourteen of them_. - -He pointed out the most important prisoners, saying of each one: - -"I captured that fellow." - -When the _basse-cour_ was restored to order, there was still much -confusion in the courtyard of the château. - -The ground-floor apartments were transformed into a hospital for men and -animals. The kitchen and dining-room were open to all who wished to warm -themselves, and the marquis refused to sit down until he had attended to -everybody's needs. Lucilio and Lauriane devoted themselves to the care -of the wounded. - -There were many varied incidents in this animated scene. - -Here, lay a man shrieking and groaning while a bullet was being -extracted; there, men were laughing and drinking together as they -recalled the exploits of the night; and farther on, were others weeping -for the dead. - -Ugly, withered old hags made a terrible outcry about goats that could -not be found; others had lost their children, and rushed hither and -thither, wild-eyed, so choked with grief that they could not call them. - -Mario, active and sympathetic, would go in search of them, while Adamas, -always provident, caused a large trench to be dug, in a neighboring -field, for the interment of those of the enemy who were killed. Their -own dead were treated with more honor, and they went in search of -Monsieur Poulain to recite prayers for them pending their burial. - -They made much of the bravest. Almost everybody had been brave at the -last moment; and yet, throughout the day they constantly found poor -dazed creatures, still cowering behind wood-piles or in the dark corners -of sheds, where they would have allowed themselves to be burned or -suffocated without a word, they were so completely paralyzed by fear. - -Amid all these scenes, tragic and grotesque, Bois-Doré and Guillaume -were untiring inf their activity. Although ghastly and heart-rending -sights met their eyes at every step, they were urged on by that somewhat -feverish enthusiasm which always follows the happy ending of a great -crisis. - -What they had to deplore and regret was a mere trifle compared with what -might have happened. - -The marquis had remounted his horse in order to perform his charitable -duties more quickly; his costume was incomprehensible to most of those -who saw him pass. He still wore his cook's apron, now a mere rag, it is -true, and stained with blood; so that many of his vassals thought that -he had tied a strip of a banner about his waist as a symbol of victory. -His long moustaches had been scorched in the fire, and Master Pignoux's -oilskin cap, crushed under the hat that Bois-Doré had hurriedly donned, -came down to his eyes; they thought that he was wounded in the head, and -he was constantly met with anxious inquiries whether he was in much -pain. - -As the first spadefuls of earth were thrown on the dead bodies, one of -them remonstrated. It was La Flèche, who declared that he was not quite -dead. - -The amateur grave-diggers were not much inclined to listen to him; but -Mario happened to pass not far off and overheard the discussion. He ran -to the spot and ordered them to disinter, the poor wretch. The order was -obeyed with reluctance, but, despite all his seignioral authority, he -could not induce anyone to take him to the hospital. - -They all disappeared on various pretexts, and Mario was obliged to go in -search of Aristandre, who obeyed without a murmur, and returned with him -to the place where the dying gypsy lay on the moist, blood-stained -ground. - -But it was too late. La Flèche was lost beyond recall. He was hardly -breathing; his haggard, staring eye indicated that his last moment was -at hand. - -"It is too late, monsieur," said Aristandre to his young master. "What -would you have! It was I who crushed him, and I was not gentle about it; -but it wasn't I who stuffed his mouth with dirt and stones to stifle -him. I should never have thought of that." - -"Dirt and stones?" repeated Mario, looking with horror and amazement at -the gypsy, who was actually suffocating. "He spoke just now! he must -have gnawed at the ground in his struggle against death!" - -As he leaned over the wretched creature to try to relieve him, La -Flèche, whose face already wore the pallor of a corpse, moved his arms -as if to say: "It is useless; let me die in peace." - -Then his arm fell with the forefinger extended, as if he were pointing -to his murderer, and so remained, stiffened by death, which had already -quenched the light of his eyes. - -Mario's eyes instinctively turned in the direction indicated by that -horrible gesture, and saw no one. Doubtless the gypsy, as he breathed -his last, had seen a vision bearing some relation to his melancholy and -evil life. - -But Aristandre's attention was attracted by the fresh prints of tiny -feet on the clayey soil. Those footprints were on all sides of the body, -and seemed to indicate a trampling or stamping around the head; then -they led away from the spot in the direction in which the gypsy's finger -still pointed. - -"There are some terrible children, eh?" said the honest coachman, -calling Mario's attention to the marks. "I know that these gypsies are -viler than dogs, and perhaps it was poor Charasson's boy, who, seeing -that you were trying to save this beast, determined to finish him this -way in order to avenge his father! It's a devilish invention all the -same, and it is quite right to say that evil leads to evil." - -"Yes, yes, my good friend," said the horrified Mario; "you understand -that a dying man is no longer an enemy. But look in the bushes over -there; isn't that little Pilar hiding?" - -"I don't know who little Pilar is," Aristandre replied, "but I know that -that little hussy is the one whose life I saved last night. See, there -she goes again. She runs like a genuine cat. Do you recognize her now?" - -"Yes," said Mario, "I know her too well, and it is clear that the evil -one is in her. Let her go, coachman, and may she go far away from here!" - -"Come, monsieur, don't stay in this horrible place," rejoined -Aristandre. "I will put this villain's body underground, for the dogs -and the crows scent him already, and monsieur le marquis would not like -to have it lying around on his land." - -Mario, being utterly exhausted, went to take a little rest. - -When he had slept an hour in a chair, beside his dear Moor, who -pretended to sleep in order to set his mind at rest, he began anew to go -about the château and through the village, bearing assistance and -consolation, accompanied by the lovable and unselfish Lauriane. - -The marquis, having hastily repaired his toilet, received the lieutenant -of the provost, and, with the assistance of Messieurs d'Ars and -Coulogne, set forth the facts to the magistrates whose duty it was to do -prompt and signal justice. - - - - -LX - - -The day was advancing. - -The tranquillity of fatigue reigned in the village and the château. -Mario and Lauriane, on returning from their round, craved a breath of -fresh air, and went into the garden, the only part of the enclosure -which had not been profaned by acts of violence and devastation. - -As he told his friend in detail his own adventures, which she had not -previously had time to comprehend, they arrived at the _Palace of -Astrée_, in the labyrinth, where he had passed such an agitated hour -during the preceding night. - -The weather was mild. The two children sat down on the steps of the -little cottage. - -Mario, although he was not ill, had a touch of fever in his blood. Such -a succession of violent emotions had matured him suddenly, as it were, -and Lauriane, on booking at him, was struck by the expression of -melancholy resolution which had so changed his sweet and transparent -glance. - -"My Mario," she said, "I fear that you are ill. You have been afraid and -courageous, tired and untiring, happy and unhappy, all at once, during -this last horrible night; but it is all passed. Master Jovelin assures -us that Mercedes is safe, and she declares that she hardly, suffers at -all. You saved our dear papa Sylvain's life and avenged your poor -father's death. All this has transformed you into a noble, gallant -youth; but you must not keep those folds on your brow, but think rather -about thanking God for the assistance He gave you in this affair." - -"I do think about it, my Lauriane," Mario replied, "but I am thinking -also of something my father said to me this morning, after which you -kissed me and said: 'Yes, yes.' I did not understand it, and you must -explain it to me. My father said that I had _earned the right to hope to -please you_. Does that mean that I have not pleased you hitherto?" - -"No, indeed, Mario; you please me immensely, for I love you dearly." - -"Good! But, when my father says sometimes laughingly that I shall be -your husband, do you think that that might happen? - -"Really, I do not know, Mario, but I hardly think so. I am two or three -years older than you, and when you are a young man I shall be what might -be called an old maid." - -"And yet, Lauriane, Adamas told me that you married your cousin Hélyon, -who was three or four years older than you. Did he ever blame you for -being too young for him?" - -"Why, yes, sometimes, before our marriage, when we played at -quarrelling." - -"Well, I think that he was wrong; I think that you are neither young nor -old, and I shall always think that you are just right, because I shall -always love you the way I love you now." - -"You don't know anything about it, Mario; it is said that one's heart -changes with one's age." - -"That is not true with me. I still think my Mercedes young and lovable, -and I have always loved her ever since I have been in the world. My -father is old, so people say, but I enjoy myself more with him than with -Clindor; and I don't see that age makes any difference between Master -Lucilio and us. Do you get tired of me because I am younger?" - -"No, Mario; you are much more sensible and attractive than other boys of -your age, and you already know more than I do, in the studies we have -together." - -"Tell me, Lauriane, do you think me nicer than your other husband?" - -"I must not say that, Mario. He was my husband, and you are not." - -"Did you love him because he was your husband?" - -"I cannot say; I did not love him much when he was only my cousin; I -thought him too wild and too fond of making a disturbance. But when they -took us to the Reformed Church together and said to us: 'Now you are -married; you will not see each other again for seven or eight years, but -it is your duty to love each other;' I answered: 'Very well;' and I -prayed for my husband every day, asking God to do me the favor to make -me love him when I should see him again." - -"And you never saw him again! Were you grieved when he died?" - -"Yes, Mario. He was my cousin, and I wept for him." - -"And so if I should die, who am neither your cousin nor your husband, -you wouldn't weep for me?" - -"You must not talk about dying, Mario," said Lauriane; "they say that it -brings bad luck when one is young. I don't want you to die, and I say -again that I love you dearly." - -"But you won't promise me when I shall be your husband?" - -"Why, Mario, what good would it do you to have me for your wife? You do -not even know whether you will want to marry when you are old enough." - -"Yes, I do, Lauriane! I want nobody else for a wife but you, because you -are good, and because you love everybody that I love. And as you say -that a woman must love her husband, I know that you will always love me -if we are married; but, if you marry someone else, you will never think -about loving me. Then I shall be very unhappy, and it makes me want to -cry just to think of it." - -"And now you are really crying!" said Lauriane, wiping his eyes with her -handkerchief. "Come, come, Mario, I tell you that you are ill to-night, -and that you must have a good supper and a good night's sleep; for you -are worrying about troubles that are still to come, instead of rejoicing -over those that you conquered last night." - -"What is past is past," said Mario; "what is to come--I don't know why -I think so much about it to-day; but I do, and I cannot help it." - -"You have been too much wrought up!" - -"Perhaps so; but I do not feel tired; and I do not know why I thought of -you all through the night, whenever my father and I were in great -danger.--'If we should both die,' I said to myself, 'who will save my -Lauriane?'--Really, I thought of you as much, perhaps more than of my -Mercedes and all the others. And I thought of you more when I met Pilar -than at any other time." - -"Why did that bad girl make you think of your Lauriane?" - -Mario reflected a moment, then replied: - -"You see, when I was travelling with the gypsies, I used often to play -and talk with that child, who knows Spanish and a little Arabic, and who -made me feel sorry for her, because she always seemed sick and unhappy. -Mercedes and I were always as kind to her as we could be, and she was -fond of us. She called Mercedes _mother_ and me my _little husband_. And -when I said: 'No, I don't want to be,' she would cry and sulk, so that I -had to say to comfort her: 'Yes, yes, it is all right!' She did us a -service last night, I agree; she went very promptly to give warning to -Monsieur Robin and Monsieur Guillaume, as I told her to; but I had a -horror of her all the same, because I knew that she was cruel and had no -religion. And then that name of husband, which she had often given me -against my will, made me sick, and I remembered that you and I had -promised in sport to marry each other, and I saw the devil on one side -of me, with her features, and my guardian angel on the other side, with -yours." - -As Mario concluded, a stone from the little cottage fell so near -Lauriane that she had a narrow escape from being wounded. - -The two children hastily departed, thinking that the cottage was falling -to pieces; and they joined the marquis, who was awaiting them for -dinner. - - - - -LXI - - -Meanwhile, Monsieur Poulain had been sought in vain to administer the -sacrament to his dying parishioners; he could not be found. - -His house had been pillaged by the gypsies before any others. His -servant had been roughly used and was in bed, praying to heaven for the -return of the rector, concerning whom she was unable to give any -information. He had disappeared two days before. - -At last, during the evening, just as Monsieur Robin and Guillaume d'Ars -were about to retire with their men, leaving their wounded to the -hospitable care of the marquis, Jean Faraudet, the farmer of Brilbault, -appeared, and requested permission to make an important communication to -his master. - -This is what he had to tell; and we will describe at the same time the -events of the previous evening at Brilbault, whither we have not as yet -had leisure to follow the numerous persons who had assembled there by -agreement, to surround and storm the old manor. - -The arrangements had been so carefully made that no one failed to appear -at the rendezvous except Monsieur de Bois-Doré, whose absence was not -noticed at first, all the confederates being divided into small groups, -which held communication with each other in total darkness when they -approached the mysterious ruin. - -The said ruin, being explored from roof to cellar, was found to be -silent and empty. But they found traces of recent occupancy in that -portion of the ground floor which the marquis had not dared to enter -alone: hot embers in the fireplaces; rags and broken food on the floor. - -They had also discovered an underground passage, with an exit at a -considerable distance from the house, outside the enclosure. Such -passages existed in all feudal châteaux. They were almost all filled up -at the time of our narrative; but the gypsies had cleared this one and -masked the opening cleverly enough. - -They had carried their investigations no farther, not only because they -deemed it useless, the enemy having already vanished, but because they -were beginning to be alarmed about Monsieur de Bois-Doré and to scour -the neighborhood for him. They were seriously alarmed when the little -gypsy arrived and told her story. - -More time was wasted in serious perplexity. Monsieur Robin thought that -the marquis had fallen into some ambuscade, and he persisted in -searching for him; whereas Monsieur d'Ars, to whom the child's -statements seemed not improbable, decided to start for Briantes with his -following. An hour later, Monsieur Robin concluded to do likewise. - -When they had all ridden away, the farmer of Brilbault, who had received -orders to continue the exploration of the château, had postponed the -task to the following day, yielding to fatigue, as he said, and probably -even more to a remnant of terror. - -"When the day broke I was there"--it is Jean Faraudet who is -speaking,--"and after turning and pulling over all the old wood and -rubbish from one end of the place to the other, I spied a little hole -that I hadn't seen, and there I found a man bound faster than any sheaf -of grain; for his hands and feet were tied, and his mouth gagged with a -bunch of straw which was very cunningly twisted around his neck like a -rope. So the man seemed to be dead from head to foot. I picked him up -and carried him to my house, where a little brandy brought him to after -I had untied him and rubbed him." - -"Who was the man?" inquired the marquis, thinking that it was D'Alvimar -"you did not know him, did you?" - -"Yes, indeed, Monsieur Sylvain," replied the farmer; "I had seen him -many a time. It was Monsieur Poulain, the rector of your parish. It was -more than four hours before he could speak a word, because he had -strained himself so in trying to struggle in his bonds. At last he said -to us: - -"'I will not tell the authorities anything. I am not to blame for -anything that may have happened; I swear by the holy oil and my -baptism!' - -"He had the fever all day and talked at random. This evening he felt -better and wanted to go home, so I brought him behind me on my brood -mare, saving your presence." - -"Let us go and question him," said Guillaume, rising. - -"No," said the marquis, "we will let him sleep. He needs it as much as -we do ourselves. And what could he disclose that we do not know too well -now? And of what could we accuse him? He went there to administer the -sacrament to Monsieur d'Alvimar; that was his duty. When he learned what -they were plotting there against me, if he did not threaten to betray -it, he at least refused to take part in it. And that is why the gypsies -bound and gagged him." - -Guillaume observed that Monsieur Poulain was a dangerous rector for the -parish of Briantes, and that he ought at the very least to be threatened -with a charge of complicity in the affair of the _reitres_, as a means -of keeping him quiet or driving him away. - -The marquis absolutely refused to harass a man who seemed to him -sufficiently punished already by the brutal treatment he had endured and -the risk he had run of perishing in oblivion and silence in a prison. - -"What!" said he, "by the grace of God, we got the better of forty -_reitres_, well equipped and provided with a cannon; of a band of active -and adroit thieves; of a terrible conflagration, and an execrable -ambush; and we can think of such a thing as wreaking vengeance on a poor -priest who can no longer injure us!" - -The marquis forgot that he was not yet entirely out of danger. - -Monsieur le Prince, who had set off in hot haste for the court, might -not be well received there, and might suddenly return and vent his -ill-humor on the nobles of his province. - -It was most essential therefore that the marquis should at all events -not allow a dangerous advocate of D'Alvimar's cause to intervene between -the prince and himself. This consideration was suggested to the marquis -on the following day by Lucilio; whereupon Bois-Doré hastened to call -upon Monsieur Poulain as if to inquire for his health. - -The rector, who was unable as yet to leave his easy-chair, he had -suffered so intensely with cold, discomfort and fright, attempted to -tell him that a fall from his horse had caused his injuries and had -detained him twenty-four hours at the house of one of his confrères. - -But Bois-Doré went straight to the fact, and talked to him with a mild -and generous firmness; nor did he fail to show him D'Alvimar's notes and -call his attention to the manner in which his deceased friend referred -to himself and the prince. - -Monsieur Poulain did not attempt to combat these revelations. His pride -was much humbled by the atrocious perplexities in which he had suddenly -become involved. - -"Monsieur de Bois-Doré," he said with a sigh, wiping away the cold -perspiration which stood out upon his brow at the recollection of his -sufferings, "I have seen death at very close quarters. I did not think -that I feared it, but it appeared to me in such hideous and cruel guise -that I made a vow to retire to a convent if I ever came forth from that -icy tomb in which I was buried alive. I have come forth, and it is my -earnest purpose never again to take part for or against any person or -any interest in this world. Henceforth I shall devote my life, in -profound seclusion, to my salvation and to that alone; and if it be your -pleasure to allot me a cell in the Abbey of Varennes, of which you are -the fiduciary possessor, I should ask nothing more." - -"So be it," replied Bois-Doré, "on condition that you inform me frankly -and fully what took place at Brilbault. I will not fatigue you with -useless questions; I know three-fourths of all that you know. I wish to -know but one thing: whether Monsieur d'Alvimar confessed to you the -assassination of my brother." - -"You ask me to betray the secret of the confessional," replied Monsieur -Poulain, "and I should refuse, as it is my duty to do, were it not that -Monsieur d'Alvimar, who was sincerely penitent at the last, instructed -me to reveal everything after his death and Sancho's, which latter he -did not suppose to be so near at hand as it proved to be. I will tell -you, therefore, that Monsieur d'Alvimar, descended through his mother -from a noble family, and authorized, by the mystery surrounding his -birth, to bear the name of his mother's husband, was, in reality, the -issue of a guilty intrigue with Sancho, an ex-leader of brigands turned -farmer." - -"Really!" exclaimed the marquis. "That explains Sancho's last words, -monsieur le recteur. He declared that he sacrificed me to the memory of -_his son_! But how did this fact enter into Monsieur d'Alvimar's -confession, unless he felt obliged to confess the sins of others as -well?" - -"Monsieur d'Alvimar had to confess his connection with Sancho in order -to induce me not to deliver to the secular authorities the man whom he -with shame and sorrow called the author of his days. He called him also -the author of his crime and his misfortunes. - -"It was that heartless and wicked man who had made him an accessory to -the death of your brother, to whom the idea first occurred, and who -stabbed him to the heart, while D'Alvimar consented to assist him and to -profit by the crime. It is only too true that the sole object of that -crime, the victim of which was unknown to its perpetrators, was to -obtain possession of a sum of money and a casket of jewels which your -brother had imprudently allowed them to see the night before, at an inn. -At that period Monsieur d'Alvimar was very young, and so poor that he -doubted whether he could pay the expenses of his journey to Paris, where -he hoped to find patrons. He was ambitious; that is a great sin, I know, -monsieur le marquis. It is the most dangerous bait that Satan holds -forth. Sancho inspired and nourished that infernal ambition in his son. -He had to overcome his repugnance, but he triumphed by pointing out to -him that this murder was a sure opportunity which would never be -repeated, and which would place him above the need of debasing himself -by imploring the compassion of others. - -"When D'Alvimar made this confession, Sancho was present; he hung his -head and did not seek to excuse himself. On the contrary, when I -hesitated to give absolution for a sin which did not seem to me to have -been sufficiently expiated, Sancho vehemently accused himself, and I -must confess that there was something grand in the passionate desire of -that fierce soul for his son's salvation. I believed then that I was -dealing with two Christians, both guilty and both repentant; but Sancho -filled me with horror and dismay as soon as his son had breathed his -last. - -"It was a ghastly scene, monsieur, which I shall never forget while I -live! The lower room in which we were, in that ruined château, had but -one fireplace; and, although it was an enormous apartment, we were much -cramped in the small space where we were sheltered from the cold air -that rushed down from above. Monsieur d'Alvimar had nothing but straw -for his bed, and only his cloak and Sancho's for covering. He was so -exhausted by two months of agony that he resembled a spectre. However, -Sancho had prepared him as best he could to receive the last -consolations of religion; and the spectacle presented by that gentleman -of distinguished bravery, resigned to his fate, amid a horde of gypsies, -heretics and villains, saddened the heart and the eyes. - -"Those miscreants, displeased at having to look on at a Christian -ceremony, howled and swore and shouted derisively to avoid hearing the -prayers of the Holy Church, which are detestable to them. It seems that -it was always so during Monsieur d'Alvimar's last days in that place. -Every night Sancho tried to take advantage of their slumber to repeat to -his son the prayers that he desired; but, as soon as one of the gypsies -detected him, the whole band, men, women and children, joined in a -frightful uproar to drown his voice and not allow their own ears to be -offended by any of the blessed words of our service. - -"It was therefore in the midst of this horrible tumult, in which -Sancho's authority--based upon the fact that he had some money hidden, -which he doled out to them little by little--sometimes succeeded in -restoring silence for a moment, that I administered the sacrament to -that unhappy young man. - -"He died reconciled with God, I trust; for he expressed much regret for -his crime and begged me to inform Monsieur le Prince of the truth, if -he, being deceived as I myself had been concerning the causes and -circumstances of your duel, should molest you because of it." - -"And have you resolved to do it, monsieur le recteur?" asked Bois-Doré, -scrutinizing Monsieur Poulain's altered face. - -"Yes, monsieur," was the reply, "on condition that you return seriously -and sincerely to the path of duty." - -"That is to say, that now you are bargaining with me for your testimony -to the truth, in the name of the supreme truth?" - -"No, monsieur; for what happened after D'Alvimar's death deprived me of -the hope of converting you by the example of the repentance of your -enemies. Sancho leaned over his son's pallid face and remained so for an -instant, without speaking or shedding a tear; then he rose, swore aloud -the execrable oath to avenge him by any and every means, and placed his -hand in that of a vile and brutal Huguenot who was present." - -"Captain Macabre?" - -"Yes, monsieur, that was the ill-omened name they gave him. - -"'I have sent for you,' said Sancho, 'to deliver the treasures of -Bois-Doré into your hands; I will join you, and I promise you the aid -of this band of volunteer scouts and skirmishers whom you see about you. -I promised you through Bellinde a chance for an excellent _coup de -main_, and the rector here, who hates Bois-Doré and who stands well -with Monsieur le Prince, will assure you impunity.' - -"Then it was, monsieur, that I objected." - -"Doubtless!" rejoined Bois-Doré with a smile. "You were well aware that -Monsieur le Prince desired my alleged treasure for himself alone, and -that he was not the man to allow it to pass through the hands of such -trustees." - -Monsieur Poulain accepted the rebuke and hung his head with an -expression, sincere or feigned, of repentance and humiliation. - -Being urged to continue his narrative, he told how Captain Macabre had -suggested blowing out his brains without ceremony to prevent his -speaking, and how the gypsies had thrown themselves upon him to secure -his clothes before they were ruined by blood. - -"That discussion," continued Monsieur Poulain, "saved my life; for -Sancho had time to suggest another plan. It was he who bound me and then -imprisoned me as you have heard. But what a rescue! It seemed to me -worse than a sudden and violent death, when the infamous villain, -without assisting me or giving me a word of hope, left Brilbault with -his gypsies, to attack your château." - -"And what was done with D'Alvimar's body, I pray to know?" asked the -marquis. - -"I understand," replied the rector with a faint smile, wherein could be -detected a trace of the old aversion, "that you are interested in -finding it, in case proceedings should be instituted against you. But -consider that that would not be evidence that could be used against you. -If people chose to lie, they would be free to say that you buried your -victim there with the help of your friend, Monsieur Robin. And so, -monsieur le marquis, you must depend for your future security upon my -loyalty alone, and I hereby offer you its guaranty." - -"On what conditions, monsieur le recteur?" - -"Conditions? I make no more conditions, my brother! From this day I am a -recluse, withdrawn from the world. I have implored from your kindness -the Abbey of Varennes." - -"Oho!" said Bois-Doré, "the abbey? A simple cell was all that you -wanted a moment ago." - -"Will you allow so venerable an abbey to go to ruin, and entrust to -boors the management of a community which is expected to set a noble -example to the world?" - -"Very good, I understand. We will see, monsieur le recteur, how you -conduct yourself with respect to me, and you shall be abundantly -gratified if I have reason to be. Meanwhile, I presume that you will not -tell me where my brother's murderer is buried?" - -"Pardon me, monsieur," replied the rector, who was too clever to appear -to haggle, and who, moreover, was really striving to extricate himself -from the tempests and passions of the age, provided that the penalty was -not too severe; "I will tell you what I saw. Sancho seemed extremely -anxious to rescue the body from any profanation on the part of the -gypsies. He raised a flagstone in the centre of the floor of the room -where we were, and he certainly interred his son there. For my part I -saw nothing more; they dragged me to my horrible dungeon, where I -languished for eighteen mortal hours, alternating between -unconsciousness and despair." - -The marquis and the rector parted on excellent terms, and the latter -made an effort to rise and officiate at the burial of his parishioners. -But after the ceremony he was so ill that he sent for Master Jovelin, -whose balsams and elixirs were much extolled as miraculous in their -operation. - -At first he had a great dread of placing his life in the hands of one -whom he looked upon as a natural enemy. But the Italian's remedies -relieved him so effectually that he was conscious of a sort of -gratitude, especially when Lucilio obstinately refused all compensation. - -The rector was compelled to offer his sincere thanks to the Beaux -Messieurs de Bois-Doré, who, during his illness, ministered to his -comfort personally and through others, with a solicitude equal to that -which they displayed for their dearest friends. - - - - -LXII - - -Lauriane fell asleep, on the evening of her _matrimonial_ interview with -Mario, slightly disturbed concerning the undue agitation of that lovable -child's heart, and his absorbing interest in the future. Inexperienced -as she was, she had a somewhat clearer idea of life, and she foresaw -that when Mario was old enough to distinguish between love and -friendship, he would still be too young, as compared with her, to -inspire her with any other sentiment than sisterly affection. She smiled -sadly at the thought of a possible combination of circumstances which -should require her to marry a child, after having been married when she -was herself a child, and she said to herself that in that case her -destiny would be a strange problem, perhaps a painful and fatal one. - -She was depressed therefore, and summoned all her resolution to resist -the influences which threatened to coerce her; for the marquis took his -plan very seriously, and Monsieur de Beuvre in his letters evidently -concealed beneath a jesting tone an earnest desire for the realization -of that plan. - -Lauriane did not resolutely demand love in her dreams of marriage and of -happiness; but she felt vaguely that it would be too hard to marry twice -without knowing love. It seemed to her therefore that a cloud, still -very light, but disquieting none the less, hovered over her present -tranquillity and her delightful relations with the Beaux Messieurs de -Bois-Doré. - -She was reassured however on the following day. - -Mario had slept soundly; the roses of childhood bloomed anew on his soft -cheeks; his lovely eyes had recovered their angelic limpidity, and a -smile of trustful happiness played about his lips. He had become a child -once more. - -As soon as he found that his father had recovered from his fatigue, that -his Mercedes was comfortable, and everybody stirring, he ran to the -stable to greet his little horse, to the village to inquire for -everybody's health, then to the garden to spin his top, and to the -farmyard to clamber over the charred ruins. - -Then he returned to wait affectionately upon his dear Moor, and he was -devoted in his attention to her so long as she was obliged to keep her -chamber. But as soon as all anxiety on her account was dispelled, he -became once more the happy and light-hearted Mario, by turns assiduous -in his studies and eager in his play, whom Lauriane could love and -caress chastely as before, without fear of the morrow. - -This change was most fortunate for the exceptional temperament of that -sweet child. If he had been subjected much longer to the violent shocks -which had succeeded each other so rapidly during that critical night, he -must inevitably have been driven mad or completely broken down. - -It should be said, however, that in those days rougher manners tended to -make men's natures more pliant, and consequently more capable of -resistance. The nervous excitement to which so many precocious natures -succumb to-day, was more violent, but less general and less lasting than -as we know it. - -Sensibility, more frequently aroused by the emotions of external life, -grew dull more quickly, and the keen emotions gave place to that intense -desire to live, no matter how, which is man's salvation in times of -disturbance and unhappiness. - -Thus the winter passed pleasantly and cheerfully at the château of -Briantes. - -They worked at the frames of the new farm buildings, awaiting the time -when the weather would allow the masons to work. The moat was cleared -and the wall repaired provisionally with stones laid without mortar; -Adamas had finally succeeded in reëstablishing subterranean -communication with the open country, and the marquis had purchased his -future peace with the provincial courtiers and churchmen by restoring -divers precious objects to certain chapels in the province, in the shape -of voluntary gifts. He had begged Madame la Princesse de Condé to -accept a number of jewels for herself, and Adamas had artfully concealed -those which in his mind were destined to adorn Mario's future bride. - -The greater part of the gold and silver coin which the marquis had in -reserve was expended in rebuilding, and in renewing his stock of grain -for his household and his poor vassals. He had also to replace the -cattle they had lost; for the Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré could not -endure poverty in their neighborhood. - -Lastly, the famous _treasure_, the value of which had been so -exaggerated, and which had been the moving cause of such great -calamities and such odious persecution, ceased to cause scandal by -ceasing to be kept in hiding. The doors of the mysterious apartment were -opened and remained open, in the sight and knowledge of all the world. - -They tried to make sure of Monsieur Poulain by offering him a part of -the booty; but he was shrewd enough to refuse; indeed, it was not -material wealth that he coveted, but power and influence. He desired, he -said, not _to possess_, but _to be_. That is why he insisted upon having -the Abbey of Varennes, a far from wealthy institution, situated in a -veritable hollow of verdure, on the small river Gourdon. - -He desired no more land than was required to support himself and two or -three brethren of the order. What he coveted was the title of abbot, and -an apparent withdrawal from the world, which would relieve him from the -daily duties of the rectorship. - -Within a month he was fully cured of his desire to renounce the world, -and it was his most cherished dream to make sure of his title and his -daily bread, so that he might have leisure to insinuate himself into the -confidence of those in high station and bear a part in diplomatic -affairs, as so many other men, less capable and less patient than he, -had done. - -Bois-Doré understood his variety of ambition, and gratified it with a -good grace. He felt sure that monsieur le prince, who was a great -secularizer of abbeys to his own profit, would sooner or later force the -surrender of this one on ungenerous terms, and he could not hope for a -better opportunity to set the prince's autocratic disposition and -Monsieur Poulain's personal interests against each other. - -So the rector was invested with the abbey in consideration of an -exceedingly modest tribute, and he departed to obtain his bishop's -permission to give up his living. - -Thus Monsieur Poulain saw the first phase of his dream of the future -realized. What he had predicted to D'Alvimar was beginning to come to -pass. He made his way by artfully exploiting the question of dissent in -religious matters in his neighborhood. D'Alvimar, starving for money and -revenge, had fallen without profit and without honor; Monsieur Poulain, -on the watch for discontent and for means of acquiring influence, exempt -from other passions and quick to sacrifice his hatreds to his interests, -entered the road by what he called the right gate. It was, at all -events, the surest. - -The non-appearance of little Pilar caused surprise. The marquis, being -informed of the important commission which she had faithfully executed, -would have been glad to reward her, and Lauriane said that she longed to -rescue the wretched creature from her evil life. But no one knew what -had become of her; they presumed that she had rejoined those of the -gypsies who had escaped from the _basse-cour_. - -The captured _reitres_ had been transferred to Bourges. Their cases were -summarily dealt with. Captain Macabre was sentenced to be hanged as a -highwayman, rebel and traitor. - -The marquis took pity on Bellinde, who was driven frantic by the -hardships of her life in prison; he refused to testify against her, that -is to say, he declared that she was not in her right mind. She was -banished from the city and province, and forbidden ever to reappear -there under pain of death. - -The Moor was cured, and Lucilio, having witnessed her fortitude in -suffering, which she endured with a sort of exalted joy, began to become -very deeply attached to her. But he feared lest he should seem mad if he -told her so, and their mutual affection, carefully concealed on both -sides, spent itself on _the children_, Mario and Lauriane, with a sort -of rivalry. - -Madame Pignoux was handsomely rewarded, as was her faithful -maid-servant. They had escaped harsh treatment by flight. The -_Geault-Rouge_ had escaped burning, thanks to the eagerness of the enemy -to pursue their expedition. - -At long intervals they received news of Monsieur de Beuvre. Those -intervals were very painful to his daughter. It was the period when the -people of La Rochelle and the nobles who had joined them became corsairs -on the sea, and formed the audacious project of blockading the mouths of -the Loire and the Gironde, in order to levy tribute on all the commerce -of those streams. De Beuvre had hinted at a purpose to accompany Soubise -in this perilous undertaking. - -In her moments of grief Lauriane did not lack loving consolation; but -none was so wonderfully ingenious and so untiring as Mario's. His loving -heart and his delicate tact found comforting words whose sweet -artlessness compelled Lauriane to smile through her tears; she could not -resist the temptation to call Mario when the others failed to divert her -mind from gloomy thoughts. - -She would say to Mercedes: - -"I do not know what spirit of light God has bestowed upon that child; -but a trivial word from him does me more good than all the kind words of -those who are more mature than he.--He is a mere child, however," she -would add mentally, "and I am not old enough to love him with a mother's -love. Ah! well, I know not how it happens that I cannot endure the -thought of ceasing to live with him." - -Early in April--1622--they received better news. - -De Beuvre had happily thought better of his purpose to accompany -Soubise, who had had very bad luck at the Isle of Rié, against the king -in person. De Beuvre had confined himself to privateering on the coast -of Gascogne--with profit and excellent health, he said. - -But this same affair of the Isle of Rié was destined none the less to -result unhappily for Lauriane and her friends at Briantes. - -The Prince de Condé had hoped that the king would follow his advice and -rush madly into danger. The king did not fail to do so; personal courage -was the only virtue he had inherited from his father. But Condé was -unfortunate: no bullet reached the king; his horse passed the shallows -at low tide without encountering quicksands, and his majesty fought -valiantly against the Huguenots with no resulting illness or even -fatigue. - -Moreover, while wielding his sword with ardor, Louis XIII., being wisely -advised by his mother, who was wisely advised by Richelieu, opened his -ears to suggestions of conciliation and to negotiations tending to put -an end to the civil war. - -Thus monsieur le prince, whose only desire was to mix up the cards, was -sorely annoyed and discontented, and he replied to the letters he -received from his government of Berry by honeyed letters overflowing -with gall. - -Among other acts of retaliation against the Huguenots in his province, -although they had, as a general rule, been perfectly quiet, he ordered -Monsieur de Beuvre's property to be sequestered, unless he should return -to Berry within three days after the publication of the order. - -It would have been very difficult for Monsieur de Beuvre, then at -Montpellier, to reach his château in three days. At that epoch it would -have required at least twice that length of time to advise him of the -measures taken against him. - -The lieutenant-general and Mayor of Bourges, Monsieur Pierre Biet, whose -habit it was throughout his life to side with the strongest, and who had -been a zealous Leaguer in his youth, determined to display his zeal, and -decreed, on his own authority, that, Monsieur de Beuvre having failed to -appear and explain his absence within the time allowed for such -appearance, mademoiselle his daughter, Dame de Beuvre, de la -Motte-Seuilly, etc., should be removed from her château and taken to a -convent at Bourges, there to be instructed in the religion of the State. - - - - -LXIII - - -It was on a delightful evening in spring that Mario and Lauriane were -strolling about the enclosure at Briantes, laughing together in tones as -melodious as those of the nightingale, when they saw Mercedes running -toward them in consternation. - -"Come, come, my beloved lady," she said, throwing her arms about her -young friend; "let us try to escape; they shall not take you until they -have killed me." - -"And what of me?" cried Mario, picking up his little rapier, Which he -had thrown on the ground in order to play more freely. "But what is the -matter, Mercedes?" - -Mercedes had no time to explain. She knew that the outer tower was -guarded by the provost's troops; she wished to try to return to the -château with Lauriane hidden under her cloak, so that she could escape -by the secret passage. - -But it was an impossible undertaking, and Mario opposed it when he saw -that the inner tower also was guarded. - -While they were deliberating, the marquis was in dire distress: he had -informed the provost's agents, who exhibited their commissions in proper -form, that Madame de Beuvre had gone out in the saddle with his son. But -when they demanded his word of honor and he pretended to be insulted by -their suspicions, in order to avoid taking a false oath, their -suspicions increased, and, while humbly asking his pardon, they -stationed guards in the towers in the king's name, and proceeded to make -a minute search of the house. - -The provost's guard of La Châtre was not so numerous or so well -equipped that a large force could be sent to Briantes. Moreover, -officers and men alike obeyed their orders with reluctance and were very -much averse to offending worthy Monsieur de Bois-Doré. But they were -afraid of being denounced to monsieur le prince, who was much dreaded in -the city and throughout the province. - -So they did their duty conscientiously, hoping that Monsieur de -Bois-Doré would threaten and resist; in which case, as _perhaps_ they -were not in sufficient force, they were all prepared and fully disposed -to withdraw,--a not infrequent result of the differences between the -provincial executive and recalcitrant provincial nobles. - -The marquis realized the situation, and Aristandre gnawed his fists with -impatience, awaiting the signal to fall upon the backs of the officers -of the law. But Bois-Doré felt that it was a serious emergency, and -that it was not simply a matter of thrashing the watch in some trivial -dispute. - -Monsieur de Beuvre was so deeply compromised that to take up his defence -would inevitably be considered an act of rebellion against the royal -authority; and under the circumstances, those gates were more -effectually guarded _in the king's name_, in the eyes of every patriotic -châtelain, than they would have been by a whole army. - -Bois-Doré, despite his belligerent disposition, and despite the fact -that he was an incorrigible Protestant at heart, had always, since the -extinction of the Valois line, looked upon the king as the -personification of France; and at this time, when the last efforts of -the Reformed religion were on the point of betraying us to external -enemies, unintentionally, doubtless, but inevitably, Bois-Doré was -inspired by the genuine sentiment of nationality. - -However he was resolved not to abandon his friend's daughter at any -cost. He knew how the children of Protestant families were persecuted in -the convents, and that Lauriane's courageous resistance would doubtless -aggravate the harshness of that persecution. This new disaster must be -averted by adroit management, and he appealed, by a furtive glance, to -the fertile genius of Adamas. - -Adamas went to and fro, heaping courtesies on the archers and scratching -his head when no one was looking. - -It occurred to him to flood the courtyard by opening the gates of the -pond on that side, or to set fire to the château by means of a small -quantity of firewood piled in the shed, at the risk of having to singe -his beard a little in extinguishing it, when he had succeeded in -frightening the enemy away; but in the midst of his perplexities -Lauriane appeared, calm and haughty, leaning on the arm of the pale and -pensive Mario. - -The Moor followed them, weeping bitterly. Four of the provost's guards -escorted them with due respect. - -This is what had happened. - -Lauriane had insisted upon being told what the matter was. She had -realized at once that any resistance for the purpose of saving her would -lay her friends open to the charge of high treason. She was well aware -that her father had risked his head, and, when he went away, she had -foreseen that her own liberty would be threatened one day or another. -She had never mentioned the subject; but she was ready to submit to any -fate rather than deny her opinions. - -In vain did Mario and Mercedes passionately implore her to say nothing -and to remain where she was: she raised her voice, declaring vehemently -that she proposed to give herself up; and when the guards who were -seeking her drew near the garden, she had already left it and was -walking straight toward them. - -They hesitated to take her into custody, her self-possession causing -them to doubt if it were really she. But she named herself, saying: - -"Do not put your hands upon me, messieurs; I give myself up voluntarily. -Kindly permit me to go and bid my host adieu; please accompany me." - -The marquis was deeply distressed by her appearance; yet he could not -but admire the noble girl's great courage. - -"Monsieur," he said to the lieutenant of the provost's guard, "you see -that I am resigned to the necessity of obeying your commands, since such -is madame's desire; but you surely will not be less honorable than she. -You will permit me to drive her to Bourges in my carriage, with my son -and his governess. I will take but two or three servants, and you can -escort us and watch us as closely as you deem best." - -So reasonable a request was readily granted, and the family had an hour -in which to make their preparations for departure. - -Lauriane gave her attention to that duty with wonderful self-possession. -Mario, dismayed and dazed, as it were, allowed Adamas to dress him -without a word. He was seated when his boots were put on, and seemed not -to have sufficient strength to raise his little legs. Lucilio went to -him and showed him these words, written in Italian: - -"Be brave, follow the example of that brave heart." - -"Yes," cried Mario, throwing his arms about his tutor's neck, "I am -doing all I possibly can, and I realize what _she_ is doing. But don't -you think that my father will find a way to set her free." - -"If it can be done, do not doubt it, monsieur," said Adamas. "Thank God! -Adamas will not leave you, and will think about it every moment. If -monsieur le marquis is resigned, it is because there is still some -hope." - -The marquis took Adamas and Mercedes in his great carriage. Clindor took -his seat on the box with Aristandre. - -It was agreed that Lucilio, concerning whom the marquis did not feel -altogether at ease, should go to Bourges secretly. - -"I have it, monsieur," said Adamas to the marquis, when they had passed -La Châtre. - -"What, my good fellow? What have you?" - -"My idea! When we reach Etalié, we will ask leave to rest a moment at -Madame Pignoux's. She has a goddaughter of Madame Lauriane's age. We -will have them change clothes, and we will take her with us in place of -madame." - -"But is this god-daughter certain to be there at this time?" - -"If she isn't there," said Mario, whose spirits were revived by Adamas's -project, "I will put on Lauriane's skirt and scarf and hood; then you -can say that I have remained at the inn, whereas she will remain in my -place, and she can easily escape from there to Guillaume's or Monsieur -Robin's, when we have gone a little way." - -"Do everything for the best, my children," said the marquis, "but say -nothing to me about it; for it will be very embarrassing not to be able -to deny on my word of honor all knowledge of the substitution, and they -will certainly require me to do so when it is discovered. So try -something else and speak low. I am not listening to you." - -"You forget," said Lauriane, "that I will not assent to any plan for my -escape. Do not try to invent one, Adamas; and do you yield to the -inevitable, Mario. I have sworn to accept my fate." - -Lauriane did, in fact, refuse to alight at the _Geault-Rouge_, where the -projected substitution might have been effected with some chance of -success. - -Mario hoped that, when they had gone a little farther, she would change -her mind and assent to some scheme; but to no purpose did they argue -that the affair might be arranged without compromising the marquis. She -was inflexible. - -"No, no," she said, "no one will believe that the marquis did not close -his eyes voluntarily. Who knows, my poor Mario, that they would not keep -you as a hostage until they had recaptured me? And, as for Adamas, he -would surely go to prison. That is what I will not have, and I will not -consent to escape, willingly or unwillingly; for, if you persist, I will -shriek and make an outcry to make sure that I am taken again." - -Lauriane's resolution could not be shaken. It was necessary to abandon -all hope of rescuing her from captivity, and they arrived at Bourges -more discouraged and downcast than when they had left Briantes. - -The result of this submissive conduct was most favorable. The -lieutenant-general, Monsieur Biet, who had confidently expected that the -marquis would ruin himself by rebelling against Lauriane's arrest, was -greatly surprised when he appeared before him with her, and requested -for her an honorable reclusion, and such consideration as her dignified -conduct entitled her to expect. - -Monsieur Biet had no choice but to adopt a mild tone, to express his -great regret at the rigorous measures adopted, which he attributed to -secret orders from the prince, and to consent that Lauriane should be -taken to the Convent of the Annunciation, founded by Jeanne de France, -aunt of her illustrious ancestress, Charlotte d'Albret. Lauriane had -several friends there, and she was allowed to keep Mercedes to wait upon -her. - -This convent was one of those to which the fiery Jesuit propaganda had -not penetrated. The nuns, vowed to a life of meditation, did not -threaten Lauriane with a too severe proselytism. - -The marquis had a conference with the superior, wherein he was able to -predispose her in the young recluse's favor, and he secured permission -to see her every day, with Mario, in the parlor, in presence of one of -the sisters. - -Despite this hopeful prospect, Mario's heart was broken when the heavy -door of the convent closed between him and his dear companion. It seemed -to him that she would, never come forth again, nor was he free from -anxiety concerning Mercedes, who strove to smile when she left him, but -who was like a madwoman for a moment when she no longer saw him, and -realized that she was doomed, for the first time in her life, to sleep -under a different roof. - -The result was that she hardly slept at all, nor did Lauriane. They -talked almost all night, and wept together, being no longer restrained -by the fear of distressing Mario by their grief. - -"My dear Mercedes," said Lauriane, as she kissed the Moor, "I know what -a sacrifice you make for me by parting from your child for my -consolation." - -"My daughter," replied the Moor, "I confess that in consoling you I -console Mario, since he loves you perhaps more than he loves me. Do not -say no; I have seen it; but I am not jealous of you, for I feel that you -will make his life happy." - -It was impossible to shake the Moor's conviction that that improbable -marriage would take place, and Lauriane dared not contradict her, -especially at that moment. - -Bois-Doré had some doubts concerning the orders said to have been given -by the prince with regard to Lauriane. The prince was naturally -treacherous, grasping and ungrateful; but he was not cruel, and his -aversion to women did not go so far as persecution. Moreover, the -marquis had fancied that he could detect some symptoms of confusion in -the lieutenant-general's manner when he questioned him concerning the -prince's alleged secret orders. He hoped to induce him, by gentle -persuasion, to revoke his decree. - -He sent a messenger to Poitou to try to find Monsieur de Beuvre and urge -him to return at the earliest possible moment, and he took up his abode -at Bourges, in order to follow up his plan with respect to Monsieur -Biet, and also to keep his eye upon his dear ward. - -The messenger was unable to find Monsieur de Beuvre; he had gone to sea -again, no one knew where. At the end of two months they had not heard -from him. - -Lauriane wept for him as for the dead. She was not deceived by the tales -the marquis told her to persuade her that he had been seen and that he -was well. He pretended to be embarrassed by the presence of the sister, -who slept all the time, and to be afraid to show her the letters which -supported his statements. - -Lauriane adopted the course of remaining calm, in order to tranquillize -Mario, whose eyes were constantly fixed upon her with an anxious -expression. - - - - -LXIV - - -The year 1622 passed in this way, and the marquis was unable, by prayers -or threats, to obtain the prisoner's release on parole. - -Monsieur Biet, fearing that he had made a mistake, had obtained -authority to imprison Madame de Beuvre, after it was done. - -The situation was made much worse by her father's prolonged absence and -silence. It became quite useless to deny the reasons therefor. No one -could retain any doubt as to what had happened; and Monsieur Biet -replied, with a bitter smile, to the marquis's urgent entreaties and -reproaches: - -"But why does not the gentleman come and get his daughter? She will be -restored to him instantly, and so will the management of her property." - -Lucilio had settled at Bourges, in the suburb of Saint-Ambroise, under a -false name. He saw no one but Mario, who came alone, simply dressed and -without ostentation, to take his lessons. - -Mercedes, who was allowed to go in and out, served his meals, to which -the philosopher probably would not have given a thought, absorbed as he -was by his work. - -At this juncture it became evident that Monsieur Poulain had changed -greatly for the better. He was still at Bourges, engaged in obtaining -permission to become an abbot, when Lucilio found himself face to face -with him one day in the little garden appurtenant to his humble -apartment. - -On accosting each other, he and the future abbé discovered that they -lived under the same roof. - -Lucilio expected to be denounced and harassed. Nothing of the sort -happened. Monsieur Poulain took pleasure in his society, and displayed -great interest in Mario when he came to take his lessons. - -Monsieur Poulain was too shrewd a man not to have reflected profoundly -on his past experience, and he realized how little dependence could be -placed on the Prince de Condé, for the Archbishop of Bourges refused to -make him abbot until monsieur le prince should authorize him, and -monsieur le prince seemed in no haste to do so. - -Thus our friends led a reasonably peaceful life during this species of -exile at Bourges. Indeed, they enjoyed more real security than they had -enjoyed at Briantes during their last weeks there. - -But the marquis was sadly distressed to have broken up all his -luxurious, comfortable and active habits. He lived very simply and -quietly, in order not to attract attention to Lauriane in a city where -the spirit of the League was by no means extinct, and where the brief -but violent reign of the Reformers had left unpleasant memories. - -Mario strove to be cheerful in order to divert him, but the poor child -was far from cheerful himself; and when he read _Astrée_ aloud to him -in the evening, he was always thinking of something else, or sighing -over those pictures of streams, gardens and bosky groves which -intensified the tedium and confinement of his present situation. - -So Mario's cheeks were pale, and he became pensive. He worked -desperately to perfect his education, and it was a great pleasure to him -to keep Lauriane informed concerning his studies, imparting to her his -most recently acquired scraps of knowledge. It was an excellent way of -killing time in their daily interviews; for there is no more painful -restraint than that caused by the impossibility of talking freely before -witnesses with the persons one loves. - -The Jesuits, who were already to be found everywhere with their fingers -in every pie, tried to persuade the marquis to entrust that charming -child's education to them. He so contrived his reply as to give them -some ground for hope, realizing that it would not be well to have an -open rupture with them. - -They were not deceived by his craft, and took alarm at Mario's -mysterious visits to the faubourg. They followed him, and thereupon were -much distressed concerning Master Jovelin. But Monsieur Poulain arranged -everything, declaring that he knew Master Jovelin to be an orthodox -Catholic, and that he, Poulain, was present at the young gentleman's -lessons. The ex-rector feared them more than he loved them, but he was -adroit enough to fool them. - -Meanwhile the war drew rapidly to a close. The news of the peace of -Montpellier arrived, and gave rise to magnificent projects for rejoicing -in honor of Monsieur le Prince, on the part of his good city of Bourges. -But the projects had to be abandoned; the prince arrived unexpectedly, -in very bad humor, feeling that his rôle was at an end. - -The king had cheated him: in the first place, he had refused to die; in -the second place, he had negotiated the peace without his knowledge. And -then the queen-mother had regained some measure of influence. Richelieu -had obtained the cardinal's hat, and despite all monsieur le prince's -endeavors, was insensibly drawing near to the centre of power. - -Condé simply passed through the province and the city. He no longer -believed in astrology; he was becoming pious from disappointment. He had -made a vow to Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. - -He started for Italy without giving the slightest attention to the -affairs of the province. Monsieur Biet, feeling that the Huguenots were -about to recover liberty of conscience, and that it would ill become him -to require Lauriane's release to be extorted from him, went himself to -the convent with the marquis, to set her free. - -The nuns parted from her with regret, testifying freely to her -gentleness and courtesy. - -Lauriane had suffered much during those five months of mental -constraint; she too had lost color and flesh; she had attended, without -a murmur, all the religious services, maintaining a dignified and -respectful demeanor, praying to God with all her soul before the -Catholic altars, and abstaining from any reflection that might have -wounded the saintlike maidens of the Annunciation. But when they urged -her to renounce her faith, she bowed, as if to say: _I understand_, and -met all the questions that were put to her with an obstinate silence. It -was no time for her to assert her liberty of conscience when it might be -that her father was prostrate under the headsman's axe. So she held her -peace and submitted to their importunities with the stoicism of a -sufferer who, with his hands bound, listens to the flies buzzing about -his head, unable to brush them away, but unwilling even to wink. - -On all other occasions she treated the sisters with the greatest -respect, and won their hearts by the most delicate attentions. Luckily, -a truly Christian spirit reigned among them. They prayed for her -conversion, they prayed for her salvation, and they left her in peace. -It was a miracle; elsewhere Lauriane, might, in desperation, have been -accused of witchcraft and condemned to perish by earthly flames; that -was the last resource when the persecuted heretics had the courage to -refuse to be convicted of heresy by their own admissions. - -At last, on November 30th, our friends, overflowing with joy and hope, -returned to the château of Briantes. - -They had received good news from Monsieur de Beuvre. He had written many -times; but his messengers had been intercepted or had betrayed their -trust. He was to return very soon, and he did, in fact, return. He was -welcomed with much feasting and merrymaking; after which they talked of -separating. - -It was proper that Lauriane should return to her own château, and the -bulky De Beuvre felt cramped in the small manor of Briantes. Lauriane -could not manifest before her father the slightest reluctance to resume -her life with him. Indeed she was conscious of no such reluctance, she -was so happy to have him at home again. And yet she felt a sudden and -involuntary chill of sadness when she entered the dismal château of La -Motte. - -The Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré escorted her thither, and, at her -father's request, were to remain two or three days with her. Mercedes -and Jovelin were of the party. It was not therefore the sensation of -solitude taking possession of her already; indeed, might they not, were -they not certain to see one another almost every day? - -This vague apprehension which disturbed Lauriane was a sort of -disenchantment, which she did not fully understand. She had always -insisted upon regarding her father as a hero; her anxieties at the -convent, due to the thought of the perils he had incurred for his faith, -had exalted to enthusiasm the conception she had formed of him. She had -been forced to abandon her ideal since he had been at home. In the first -place, although De Beuvre had complained that he grew stout in idleness, -and they had expected that he would return emaciated and exhausted, he -was ruddier and more portly than ever. His mind seemed to have grown -dense in proportion. His blunt gayety had become a little vulgar. He -posed as a sailor, smoked a pipe, swore beyond all reason, forgot to -wrap his scepticism in Montaigne's ingenious aphorisms, and at times -adopted an air of sly and mysterious satisfaction which was by no means -courteous to his friends. - -The solution of this last riddle was let fall by him on the day -following his return to La Motte, during a conference which we are about -to describe. - - - - -LXV - - -They had hunted during the day, then supped, and were sitting about the -fire in the large salon, when Guillaume d'Ars, who had been very -assiduous in his attentions to Lauriane since the news of the peace, -asked leave, with some playful emotion, to make a speech. - -They all ceased their games and conversation, and Guillaume, after -appealing to Lauriane for special encouragement, which she accorded him -without a suspicion of what it was all about, spoke as follows: - -"Mesdames"--Mercedes was present,--"messieurs, friends, kinsmen and -neighbors, all honored, respected and beloved, I beg you to listen to a -story which is my own. In me you see a young man neither better nor -worse made than many another; ignorant enough, Master Jovelin will -agree; reasonably rich and well-born, but those are not virtues; brave, -but that is no subject for boasting; lastly--I pause that some one may -kindly eulogize me; for, as you see, I hardly understand praising -myself." - -"Assuredly," exclaimed the marquis with his customary good-humor, "you -are more than you claim, cousin: the flower of the nobility of the -province, the mirror of chivalry, and, like Alcidon, 'so much esteemed -by those who know you, that there is naught to which your merit doth not -entitle you to aspire.'" - -"A truce to your insipid nonsense from _Astrée_!" said Monsieur de -Beuvre. "What are you aiming at, Guillaume? and why do you come in quest -of praise from us, when no one here has any thought of complaining of -you?" - -"Because, messire, having a momentous request to present to you, I -wished to have for advocates all those in whom you place most -confidence." - -"We all bear witness to your loyalty, courage, courtesy and staunch -friendship," said Lauriane. "Now, speak; for there are two women here, -that is to say two curious mortals." - -Lauriane had no sooner spoken thus than she blushed and regretted her -words, for the enthusiastic and slightly fatuous air of the excellent -Guillaume suddenly gave her a hint of what was coming. - -In truth, it was an offer of marriage which Guillaume, more encouraged -by her than she had intended or supposed, laid before her father and -herself, invoking anew the support of all those who were present, and -blending hyperbole, wit and sentiment in a way which might be considered -agreeable and becoming in view of the spirit of the time. - -The declaration was somewhat long and involved, as good breeding -demanded, although it was none the less outspoken and sincere, and most -cordial toward all present. - -When his purpose had become manifest, very diverse sentiments were -depicted on the faces of his audience. Monsieur de Bois-Doré manifested -much embarrassment and extreme displeasure, held in check as much as -possible. Lauriane lowered her eyes with an expression of melancholy -rather than annoyance. Mercedes anxiously tried to read what was written -in Mario's great eyes. Mario had turned toward the wall; nobody could -see his face. Lucilio watched Lauriane closely. - -Monsieur de Beuvre alone remained unmoved, with no other expression than -one of reflection; one would have said that he was making a mental -calculation that engrossed his whole attention. - -No one spoke, and Guillaume was somewhat confused. But that silence -might be considered a sign of encouragement as well as of disapproval, -and he knelt at Lauriane's feet, as if to await her reply in an attitude -of absolute submission. - - -[Illustration: _GUILLAUME D'ARS PROPOSES -MARRIAGE._ - -"_Rise, Messire Guillaume," said the young woman, -rising herself in order to induce him to obey her more -quickly. "You surprise us with a thought which is -quite new to us, and to which we cannot reply as quickly -as it was suggested._"] - - -"Rise, Messire Guillaume," said the young woman, rising herself in order -to induce him to obey her more quickly. "You surprise us with a thought -which is quite new to us, and to which we cannot reply as quickly as it -was suggested." - -"It did not come to me quickly," said Guillaume. "It has been in my mind -two or three years. But your youth and your mourning made me fear that I -might speak too soon." - -"Permit me to doubt it," said Lauriane, who knew by public report that -Guillaume had always led a joyous life and had recently sighed at the -feet of several more or less marriageable ladies. - -"My dear daughter," said Monsieur de Beuvre at last, "permit me to tell -you that Guillaume is not telling an untruth. For a long time past, as I -know, he has thought of you whenever he has thought of marriage. But, in -my opinion, he has decided a little too late to make his desire known to -you." - -"A little late?" exclaimed Guillaume in dismay; "can it be that you have -disposed----" - -"No, no!" laughed De Beuvre; "my daughter is neither betrothed nor -promised to anyone, unless it be to our _youthful_ neighbor, the Marquis -de Bois-Doré, or to this solemn personage, the other Monsieur de -Bois-Doré, who slumbers yonder while another seeks the hand of his -future bride!" - -Mario, bewildered and wounded, did not turn. It seemed as if he were -asleep; the Moor alone saw that he was weeping; but the marquis rose and -retorted with more animation than he usually displayed: - -"I will wager, my dear neighbor, that your raillery is intended as a -rebuke for our silence, so we will break it. You will forgive me, -Guillaume; for, as surely as heaven is above us, I esteem you the best -and most loyal man in the world, worthy in every respect to be our -Lauriane's happy husband. But, with no desire to injure you in her eyes, -I hereby declare that my suit preceded yours, and that I was encouraged -by her and her father when I urged my suit." - -"You, cousin?" exclaimed Guillaume in amazement. - -"Yes, I," replied Bois-Doré, "as uncle, guardian and father by adoption -of Mario de Bois-Doré here present." - -"Here present? Nay," said Monsieur de Beuvre, still laughing, "for he is -sleeping the sleep of innocence." - -"As a child should do!" added Guillaume gently. - -"I am not asleep!" cried Mario, rushing into his father's arms, and -revealing his face all discolored with the sobs he had stifled in his -hands. - -"Hoity-toity!" said Monsieur de Beuvre, "he says that with his eyes -half-closed with sleep!" - -"Nay," rejoined the marquis, scrutinizing his child's face, "with his -eyes inflamed with tears!" - -Lauriane started; Mario's grief reminded her of the scene in the -labyrinth, and brought before her mind once more the apprehensions she -had forgotten. The child's tears pained her deeply, and Mercedes's -glance disturbed her like a reproach. - -Lucilio seemed to share her anxiety. Lauriane felt that she held in her -hands for a long while, perhaps forever, the happiness of that family -which had bestowed so much happiness on herself. She became altogether -depressed, and, seeing that the marquis too was weeping, she gave the -old man and the young man each an equally affectionate kiss, entreating -them to be reasonable and not to borrow trouble concerning a future -which she had not yet faced. - -De Beuvre shrugged his shoulders. - -"You are all very foolish," he said; "and as to you, Bois-Doré, I -consider you thrice mad to have fed this poor schoolboy's brain on your -absurd romances. You see the result of spoiling a child. He deems -himself a man, and wishes to marry, forsooth! at an age when all he -needs is the birch." - -These harsh words put the finishing touch to Mario's despair; they made -the marquis seriously angry. - -"You seem to be in the mood for making unnecessarily cruel remarks, -neighbor," he said. "The birch has no place in my method with a child -who has displayed the courage of a gallant man. I am well aware that he -should not marry for several years; but it seemed to me that I -remembered that our Lauriane herself did not wish to marry for seven -years from that day last year, when, in this very room, she gave me a -pledge." - -"Oh! let us not speak of that ghastly pledge!" cried Lauriane. - -"Nay, let us speak of it and give thanks to God," replied the marquis, -"since that dagger was the means of restoring to me my brother's child. -Thus it was through your blessed hands, dear Lauriane, that that -happiness entered my house; and, if I was mad to hope that you too would -enter it, forgive me. The happier one is, the more greedy one is of -happiness. As for you, friend De Beuvre, you surely will not deny your -encouragement of my idea. Your letters prove it; you said: 'If Lauriane -chooses to have patience and not go mad over the thought of marriage -until Mario is nineteen or twenty years of age, I assure you that I -shall be very glad.'" - -"I do not deny it!" rejoined De Beuvre; "but I should be an idiot not to -look at the question of my daughter's marriage in both aspects: the -future and the present. Now, the future is less secure; who will assure -me that we shall all be in this world six years hence? And then, when I -wrote as you say, my dear neighbor, my position was not all that could -be desired; and I tell you plainly that now it is much better than you -imagine. So listen to me, Monsieur d'Ars, and you, marquis, and you -above all, my dear daughter. I rely upon secrecy being maintained as to -that which I am about to confide to none but persons of honor and -discretion. I have doubled my fortune in this last campaign. That was my -principal purpose, and I have accomplished it, while serving my cause at -the risk of my life. I fought bad men to the best of my ability, and -contributed, like others, to the honorable terms of peace which the king -grants us. And so, Monsieur d'Ars, if you do me honor by asking for my -daughter's hand, it is only by virtue of your name and your personal -merit; for I am probably as rich as you.--And do you, friend Sylvain, -when you manifest your friendship for me by the same request, understand -that your treasure has no power to dazzle me; for I have my own -treasure, _three ships upon the sea_, all full of _silver, gold and -precious wares_, as says the ballad. - -"And so, my dear and noble lords, you will give me time for reflection -before replying to you; and my daughter, knowing now that it will not be -difficult to find another husband for her, will take counsel with -herself and form her own decision." - -Thereupon there was nothing more to be done than to say good-night. - -Guillaume, like a man of the world, treated Mario's pretensions lightly, -but without acrimony or malice; for the child was excited enough to -demand satisfaction, and Guillaume loved him too well to care to -irritate him to that point. He took his leave with the not unreasonable -hope of triumphing over a rival who did not come to his shoulder. - -Mario slept poorly and had no appetite the next day. His father took him -home, fearing that he would fall ill, and beginning to conclude that it -is not well to play with the future of children in their presence. But -this tardy repentance did not cure him. His abnormal, romantic brain, -which had never ceased to be the brain of a child, could not understand -the sound conception of time. Just as he believed that he was still -young, so he imagined that Mario was ripe for the kind of love, cold and -loquacious, chaste and affected, with which _Astrée_ had permeated his -mind. - -Mario knew nothing of the subtle distinctions of words. He simply felt -an intolerable heart-ache, the only deep-rooted and lasting torture. - -He said: "I love Lauriane;" and if he had been asked with what kind of -love, he would have answered in good faith that there were not two -kinds. Pure as the angels, he had the true ideal of life, which is to -love for the sake of loving. - -As soon as De Beuvre and his daughter were left alone, he strongly urged -her to decide in favor of Guillaume d'Ars. - -"I did not wish to displease the marquis by declaring my preference," he -said; "but his dream is rank madness, and I fancy that you do not care -to wear the black cap six years longer, until this little brat has lost -all his milk teeth." - -"I did not enter into this engagement myself," replied Lauriane; "but I -am afraid that you unconsciously entered into it for me with the -marquis." - -"I would snap my fingers at it, if I had," rejoined De Beuvre; "but that -is not the case. So much the worse for the old fool and his cub if they -take thoughtless words seriously; one will console himself with a wooden -horse, the other with a new doublet; for they are equally childish." - -"My dear father," said Lauriane, "it is no longer possible for me to -jest about the marquis. He has been more than a father to me, something -like a father, mother and brother all together, there has been so much -protecting care, motherly affection and pleasant raillery in his manner -toward me! And if Mario is only a child, he is not like other children. -He is a girl in gentleness and delicacy; and he is a man in courage, for -you know what he has done, and, furthermore, that he is very learned for -his years.. He could teach both of us!" - -"Faith, my girl," cried De Beuvre, puffing himself out, "you dote too -much on the Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré, and it seems to me that I am -no longer of much account in your eyes. You seem to think a vast deal of -their grief and nothing at all of my consent, since you turn a deaf ear -to me when I speak of Guillaume d'Ars." - -"Guillaume d'Ars is a good friend," replied Lauriane, "but he is too old -as a husband for me. He will soon be thirty years old, and he knows the -world too well; he would soon begin to consider me silly or uncivilized. -His suit would have flattered me perhaps before the peace; he would have -deserved some credit for offering us the support of his name when we -were persecuted. He deserves little to-day, when our rights are -acknowledged and our tranquillity assured. He will deserve still less if -he persists in his suit, now that he knows that we are richer than we -were." - -De Beuvre tried in vain to induce her to change her mind. He was -exceedingly vexed with her; for, even if their ages had been the same, -he would have much preferred Guillaume to Mario. A son-in-law devoted to -physical exercise and to the heedless pursuit of pleasure suited him -much better than a cultivated mind and an exceptional character. - -Lauriane remonstrated, although she used after every sentence the -formula: "Your will shall be mine."--But when she said it she relied -upon the promise her father had made, since, her widowhood, never to -force her inclination. - -De Beuvre, who had become more covetous as soon as he became -richer--this transformation takes place suddenly in those of mature -years,--was sorely tempted to take her at her word and to say: "_It is -my will_."--But he was not an unkind man, and his daughter was almost the -only object of his affection. - -He contented himself with harassing her and depressing her spirits by -talking incessantly of those material interests to which she had -believed him to be so indifferent when he made his last Huguenot -crusade. - -She did not give way, but, in order not to wound him, she agreed to show -the greatest consideration in rejecting Guillaume's suit, and to receive -his visits until further notice. - - - - -LXVI - - -The _Beaux Messieurs_ did not return to La Motte for a week. Mario had a -slight attack of fever. Lauriane was anxious and wept. Her father -refused to take her to Briantes, saying that it was useless to keep -illusions alive. There was a slight quarrel between them. - -"You will make them think me most ungrateful," she said. "After all the -care and attention I received from them, it is my duty to go to nurse -Mario. You should at least go there every day. They will say that you -have forgotten them, now that we no longer need them. Ah! why am I not a -boy? I would ride there every hour in the day; I would be that poor -child's friend and companion, and I could show my friendship for him -without putting a noose around my neck, or incurring blame!" - -At last she induced her father to take her to Briantes. She found Mario -almost recovered from his grief and cured of his fever. He seemed to -have determined once more to be a child. The marquis was a little hurt -by Monsieur de Beuvre's conduct. But they could not remain at odds. The -parents gradually entered into conversation as if nothing had happened; -Lauriane began to laugh and romp with her innocent lover. - -"My dear neighbor," said De Beuvre to Bois-Doré, "you must not be -offended with me. Your plan for these children was pure dreaming. See on -what excellent terms they are in those innocent games! That is a sign -that in the game of love they would be always at war. Remember that a -too young husband is not long content with a single wife, and that a -deserted wife is jealous and shrewish. Moreover there is another -obstacle between the children, which we have not considered: one is a -Catholic, the other a Protestant." - -"That is not an obstacle," said the marquis. "They can be married at the -same church, reserving the right to return to the one they prefer." - -"Oh! yes, that is all very well for you, you old unbeliever, who belong -to both churches, that is to say, to neither; but for us----" - -"For you, neighbor? I don't know to what communion you belong; but I -believe implicitly in God, and you don't believe in Him at all." - -"_Perhaps_! _Who can say_?" as Montaigne says; "but my daughter is a -believer, and you cannot induce her to give way." - -"She would not have to give way. Here, she was always free to pray as -she chose. Mario and she used to say their evening prayer together, and -they never thought of disputing. Besides, Mario would be all ready to do -as I did." - -"Yes, to say as you did in the days of the good king: 'Long live Sully -and long live the pope!'" - -"Lauriane would be no more obstinate in her Calvinism, be sure of that!" - -Bois-Doré was mistaken. The more frankly De Beuvre avowed his -scepticism, the more earnest was Lauriane in her disinterested -attachment to the Reformation. De Beuvre, who knew it well and who was -seeking an opportunity to create obstacles, raised the question during -dinner. Lauriane stated her views in mild language, but with remarkable -firmness. - -The marquis had never discussed religion with her or before her. In -fact, he never discussed it with anyone, and found the half-Gallic, -half-pagan divinities of _Astrée_ quite reconcilable with his vague -notions concerning the Deity. He was distressed to see Lauriane take up -the cudgels in that way, and he could not resist the temptation to say -to her: - -"Ah! you bad girl, you would not be so obstinate in your opinions if you -loved us a little more!" - -Lauriane had not detected her father's purpose. The marquis's reproach -made it clear to her. It was the first reproach he had ever addressed to -her, and she was deeply grieved. But the fear of irritating her father -prevented her from answering as her heart prompted. She looked down at -her plate and held back a tear that trembled on her eyelid. - -Mario, who seemed entirely engrossed in preparing little Fleurial's -dainty dinner, spied that tear, and said abruptly, in a grave, almost -manly tone, in striking contrast to the puerile occupation of his hands: - -"We are making Lauriane sad, father; let us say no more about it. She -has a brain of her own, and she is right. For my part, if I were in her -place I would do as she does, and I would not abandon my party in -misfortune." - -"Well said, my little man!" said De Beuvre, impressed by Mario's -intelligent air. - -"And it suggests to me," said the marquis, "that we are above such -profitless discussions. My son already has the free spirit of noble -minds, and he would never be the one to dispute Lauriane's opinions." - -"Dispute them, no indeed," said Mario; "but----" - -"But what?" queried Lauriane eagerly; "you do not mean that you would -share them, Mario, even through affection for me?" - -"Ah! if that were the case," exclaimed De Beuvre, once more struck by a -sudden thought, "if the child, with his name and his wealth, should -decide to espouse our cause heartily, I do not say that I would not -advise Lauriane to wear her black cap some time longer." - -"Then it is all right!" said the marquis; "when the time comes----" - -"No, no, father!" interposed Mario with extraordinary vehemence; "that -time will never come for me. I was baptized a Catholic by Abbé -Anjorrant; I was brought up in the idea that I ought never to change; -and, although he did not ask me to take any oath to it when he was -dying, it would seem to me as if I should disobey him by leaving the -church in which he put me. Lauriane has set me the example and I will -follow it; we will remain as we are, and it will be all right. That will -not prevent me from loving her, and if she doesn't love me, she will do -wrong and be a bad girl." - -"What do you say to that, my child?" queried De Beuvre; "doesn't it -strike you that he is the sort of little husband who, when he saw you -burning, would say: 'I feel deeply grieved, but I can do nothing, -because it is the pope's will?'" - -Lauriane and Mario disputed like the children they were; that is to say, -their cheeks grew red as fire. Lauriane sulked; Mario did not move an -inch, and finally exclaimed with much heat: - -"You say, Lauriane, that you would degrade yourself if you should -change. Then you would despise me if I changed, would you not?" - -Lauriane realized the justness of the retort, and said no more; but she -was piqued, like a woman with whom her lover makes conditions, and her -glance said to Mario: "I thought that you loved me more than you do." - -When she was riding home with her father, he did not fail to say to her: - -"Well, my child, do you not see now that Mario, that charming youth, is -a Papist of the old stock, like his own father, who served the Spaniard -against us? And some day, ashamed of his old uncle's inanity, he will -make war on us! Then what will you say, when you see your husband in one -camp and your father in the other, shooting bullets at each other, or -fighting hand to hand?" - -"Really, father," said Lauriane, "you speak as if I had evinced a desire -to remain a widow; but I have never determined upon that. I cannot see, -however, why Monsieur d'Ars is not equally exposed to the evil fate -which you predict. Is not he a Catholic and a devoted partizan of the -royal power?" - -"Monsieur d'Ars has no will of his own," replied De Beuvre, "and I will -answer for it that we shall be able to bend him to all our purposes, on -every occasion. More bigoted men than he have changed sides when the -prospects of the Reformation seemed bright." - -"If Monsieur d'Ars has no will," rejoined Lauriane, "so much the worse -for him; he is no man; and yet he is a man in years!" - -Lauriane was not mistaken. Guillaume was a weak character; but he was a -handsome fellow, a pleasant neighbor, brave as a lion, and very generous -to his friends. He was mild and easy-going with the peasantry, and -allowed himself to be robbed without paying the slightest heed; but he -followed the example of the nobles of his time: he allowed the peasantry -to wallow in ignorance and poverty. It seemed to him a very -fine thing that Lauriane's vassals were neat and well-fed, and very -amusing that Bois-Doré's were stout; but when he was told that, at -Saint-Denis-de-Touhet, the peasants died like flies during the -epidemics; that at Chassignoles and Magny they did not know the taste of -wine and meat--hardly that of bread; and that, in the Brenne country, -they ate grass, while in other even more unhappy provinces they ate one -another, he would say: - -"What do you expect to do about it? Everybody cannot be happy!" - -And he did not exert his mind beyond its powers to find a remedy. It had -never occurred to him to live on his estate, as Bois-Doré did, and to -share his well-being with all those who were dependent upon him. He -passed as much time as he could at Bourges and Paris, and aspired to a -rich marriage, in order that he might lead a more joyous life than ever, -with a woman whom he would probably make perfectly happy on condition -that she had no more brain and sensitiveness than he. - -He was the type of his caste and his epoch, and no one thought of -blaming him. - -On the other hand, Lauriane was considered a fanatical heretic and -Bois-Doré an old imbecile. Lauriane herself did not judge Guillaume so -severely as we do, but she felt that he lacked pith and substance, and -she experienced unconquerable ennui when, she was in his company. At -such times the days passed at Briantes would come back to her like a -delightful dream. Well might she have said: _Et in Arcadia ego_! - -However, she had no idea of becoming Mario's wife. In her inmost -thoughts she remained his older sister, proud of him and striving to -emulate him; but she found no suitor to her liking, although many a one -came forward as soon as her father was seen to be purchasing additional -estates. By dint of making involuntary comparisons between her father, -who was so practical and selfish, who criticized her so often in regard -to her charities, and the excellent Monsieur Sylvain, who always lived -himself and caused everybody about him to live as in a fairy tale, she -conceived a dislike for cold reason, and became in secret the most -dreamy and romantic maiden on earth, according to Monsieur de Beuvre and -her other relations of both religions. In private, they laughed at her -and at what they called her ridiculous love for a baby in arms. - -By dint of hearing it said that she was in love with Mario, Lauriane, -being persecuted to some extent in her own home, was driven, as it were -in spite of herself, to look upon that love as possible. So it was that -she admitted the idea of it when Mario was fifteen. - -But she speedily rejected that idea again, for Mario at fifteen did not -seem as yet to distinguish between love and friendship. He was -respectful in his manner toward her, and at the same time familiar in -his speech after the fashion of a well-bred brother. He did not say a -word which could lead her to think that passion had revealed itself to -him. Sometimes, it is true, he flushed deeply when Lauriane suddenly -appeared in some place where he did not expect her, and he turned pale -when some new project of marriage for her was broached in his presence. -At least, Adamas so informed his master, and Mercedes confided the same -observations to Lucilio. But it may be that they were mistaken. The boy -was growing rapidly and reading a great deal; perhaps he had pains in -his head and limbs. - -We will say but one word concerning this period, when Mario was fifteen -years of age and Lauriane nineteen. Their placid existence and tranquil -relations were so happily monotonous that we can find no traces thereof -in our documents concerning Briantes and La Motte-Seuilly. - -We find there, however, mention of the marriage of Guillaume d'Ars to a -wealthy heiress of Dauphiné. The nuptials were celebrated in Berry, and -it does not appear that Lauriane's rejection of his suit had displeased -honest Guillaume, for she was of the party, as were the Bois-Dorés. - -A year later, in 1626, the lives of our characters are more clearly -outlined. That was the epoch of the baptism of Monseigneur le Duc -d'Enghien--afterward the great Condé--which hastened the course of -events for them. - -This baptism took place at Bourges on the 5th of May. The young prince -was then about five years of age. The splendid festivities in connection -with the ceremony attracted all the nobility and all the bourgeoisie of -the province. - -The Marquis de Bois-Doré, who had at last secured the salutary -indifference, if not the dangerous favor of Condé and the Jesuit -faction, yielded to the wishes of Mario, who was curious to see a little -of the world, and to his own inclinations, which led him to exhibit his -heir under more favorable circumstances than in 1622, when he was in a -very painful and disquieting situation. - - - - -LXVII - - -When his mind was once made up, Bois-Doré, who could do nothing by -halves, employed Adamas's genius and industry for a whole month in -superintending the preparation of the splendid costumes and sumptuous -equipages which he proposed to exhibit before the court and the city. - -The supply of horses and gorgeous accoutrements was replenished; they -made investigations concerning the new styles. They exerted themselves -to eclipse all rivals. The old nobleman, still erect on his legs and -straight of back, still becurled and anointed, still in good health and -young in fancy, chose to be dressed in the same fabrics cut in the same -style as his _grandson's_. So Mario was called at court, because the -prince, seeking to jest pleasantly with Bois-Doré, and forgetting the -degree of kinship between the Beaux Messieurs, asked him if it was from -economy that he dressed his grandson in the clippings of his own -clothes. Mario understood the great vassal's contempt, and felt more of -a royalist than ever. - -Lauriane also had expressed a wish to see a very great fête for the -first time in her life. As her father had taken no part in the new -uprising of the Huguenots, and, moreover, as a new treaty of peace had -been signed within three months, they could appear at Bourges without -risk. It was agreed that they should all go together. - -Magnificent banquets, banners with Latin distichs and anagrams in honor -of the little prince, regiments of children, in brave array and -exceedingly well drilled, for his escort, the singing of motets, -speeches by the magistrates, presentation of the keys of the city, -concerts, dances, a play given by the Jesuit college, angels descending -from triumphal arches and presenting rich gifts to the young duke--that -is to say, to monsieur his father, who would not have been content with -sweetmeats,--manœuvres by the militia, ceremonial functions and -merry-makings--all this lasted five days. - -They saw many great personages there. - -The comely and famous Montmorency--whom Richelieu afterward sent to the -scaffold--and the Dowager Princesse de Condé--called the -poisoner--represented the godfather and godmother, who were no others -than the King and Queen of France. Monseigneur le Duc received baptism -in the _chrémeau_--a little cap trimmed with precious stones--and a -long dress of cloth of silver. The Prince de Condé wore a gray coat all -stamped with gold and silver. - -The Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré were invited by Monsieur Biet to take -their places on the platform reserved for the higher nobility, not -because they were among the best friends of the little court, but -because of their rich attire, which did honor to the spectacle. - -Mario's beauty attracted even more notice than his costume. - -Lauriane heard the ladies--notably the little prince's youthful and -lovely mother--call attention to the beautiful boy's charms. She felt -disturbed for the first time, as if she were jealous of the glances and -smiles of which he was the recipient. - -Mario paid no heed to them. He looked at the princely child with -curiosity. He was ugly and of sickly aspect; but there was much -intelligence in his eyes and resolution in his gestures. - -On the 6th of May, as our friends were preparing to depart, De Beuvre -led the marquis aside. - -They had been sojourning at the house of a friend. - -"Look you," said he, "we must have done with this, and come to some -decision." - -"Have a little patience. The horses will soon be ready," replied -Bois-Doré, thinking that he was in haste to start for home. - -"You do not understand me, neighbor; I say that we must make up our -minds to marry our children, since that is their idea and our own. I -must tell you that I am about to make another journey. I came here only -to make arrangements with certain people who assure me of excellent -opportunities in England, and if I must entrust my Lauriane to you once -more, it will be quite as well that she should be married to your heir. -It is an excellent chance for him; for my vessels are in a fair way to -multiply, so I am told, and the peace will simply double the -opportunities of Anglo-Protestant piracy. So that my daughter might have -aspired to better men than you, as to name and wealth, but not as to -heart; and as the trouble of taking care of her will interfere with my -taking proper care of my business, I desire, on resuming my freedom of -action, to place my Lauriane in good hands. So say yes and let us hasten -matters." - -The marquis was staggered by this proposition, which. Monsieur de Beuvre -had seemed little inclined to receive favorably during the past four -years, if it had been made to him. But it did not require much -reflection to convince him of the impropriety of this plan, and of -Lauriane's father's selfish heedlessness. Bois-Doré was often heedless -himself, often injudicious; but he was a father in the truest sense, and -Mario in love and married at sixteen seemed to him to be in a more -perilous situation than Mario romantically and conjugally inclined at -eleven. - -"You cannot mean it," he replied; "let our children be betrothed, if you -please; but as to marrying them, it is altogether too soon." - -"That is what I meant," said De Beuvre. "Let them be betrothed, and do -you take my daughter with you once more. You can watch over the lovers, -and in two or three years I will return for the wedding." - -Bois-Doré was romantic enough to yield; and yet he hesitated. He had -forgotten all about love, about its tempests at all events. But a glance -from Adamas, who pretended to be arranging the luggage, and who was -listening intently with both ears, reminded him of the flushes and -pallors he had noticed on Mario's face, which might be the manifestation -of suffering carefully concealed. - -"No, no," he said. "I will not put my child beside the fire; I will not -expose him to the risk of burning up or disobeying the laws of honor. -Abide in your château, neighbor, and let us be prudent. You are rich -enough. Let us exchange oaths, without the knowledge of our children. -Why deprive either of them of sleep? Three years hence we will make them -happy without perplexity or self-reproach." - -De Beuvre realized that ambition and greed had led him to make an absurd -suggestion. But he had become obstinate and choleric. He lost his -temper, refused to give his word, and decided to take his daughter to -Poitou, to her kinswoman the Duchesse de la Trémouille. - -Mario nearly swooned when, as they were about entering the carriage, he -was informed that Lauriane would not return with them and was going away -for an indefinite period. His father had tried to lighten the blow; but -De Beuvre insisted upon dealing it, either to test the boy's sentiments, -or to have his revenge for the lesson in prudence he had received with a -bad grace from the least prudent of men. Lauriane, who knew nothing as -yet--her father having told her simply that they were to remain a few -days longer at Bourges,--rushed downstairs when she heard the marquis's -pained exclamation at the sight of Mario pale and swooning. But Mario -soon recovered, declared that he had had an attack of cramp, and jumped -into the great carriage with his eyes closed. He did not wish to see -Lauriane, whose tranquillity, down to that moment, wounded him to the -lowest depths of his heart. He supposed that she knew everything, and -had decided, without regret, to part from him forever. - -The marquis longed to remain, to have an explanation with De Beuvre. He -had the courage to refrain, when he saw how brave Mario was: whatever -the result, the young man had reached an age when separation for a few -years had become necessary. - -Mario, expansive as he was on all other subjects, opened his heart to no -one, and affected the most perfect serenity during the journey. - -At Briantes the marquis questioned him adroitly, Mercedes imprudently. -He held his ground, saying that he loved Lauriane _much_, but that his -grief would affect neither his reason nor his work. - -He kept his word. His health suffered a little; but he assented to all -the measures that he was urged to adopt in that regard, and he soon -recovered. - -"I hope," the marquis would say sometimes to Adamas, "that he will not -be too sentimental, and will forget that wicked girl who does not love -him." - -"For my part," said the sage Adamas, "I hope that she loves him more -than she seems to do; for if our Mario should lose the hope that keeps -him alive, we should have cause for anxiety!" - -In 1627, that is to say the next year, the château of Briantes was -threatened anew with disaster. It was proposed to raze its stout walls, -its little bastions and its fortified towers. - -Richelieu, being definitely established in supreme authority, had -decreed and ordered the destruction of the fortifications of cities and -citadels throughout the kingdom. This excellent measure, construed most -broadly, extended to "all fortifications constructed within thirty -years, about the houses and châteaux of private individuals, without -the express permission of the king." - -Briantes was not in that category; its defences dated from feudal days -and were useless against cannon. The sheriffs and magistrates of La -Châtre, displeased at having to shave themselves, as Adamas the -ex-barber said, would have been glad to shave all the noble lords, their -neighbors. But Bois-Doré, feeling the necessity of protection against -bands of adventurers and highwaymen, maintained his rights and forced -them to be respected. He was too much beloved by his vassals to fear -that they would act like those of many other nobles, who voluntarily -posed as executors of the great cardinal's orders. - -The measure was very popular and at the same time very sweeping. It was -hunting down the spirit of the League in its feudal lairs. But the -orders were carried out only in Protestant neighborhoods, and that bold -decree remained upon paper, like many of Richelieu's bold conceptions. - -Berry escaped by showing its claws, as always. Monsieur le Prince did -not allow a stone to be removed from his fortress of Montrond; the -châteaux of the great and petty nobility remained standing, and the -great tower of Bourges did not fall until the reign of Louis XIV. - -Bois-Doré had hardly recovered from this excitement when he was -assailed by another, more serious yet less alarming. - -"Monsieur," said Adamas to him one evening, "I must needs regale you -with a story which Monsieur d'Urfé would have put in the form of a -romance, for it is most pleasant." - -"Let us have your story, my friend!" said the marquis, pulling his lace -cap over his bald skull. - -"It relates, monsieur to your virtuous druid and the fair Moor." - -"Adamas, you are becoming a joker and a satirist, my good man. No -calumny, I beg you, concerning my excellent friend and the chaste -Mercedes!" - -"Why, monsieur, where would be the harm if those two worthy persons -should be united by the bonds of matrimony? Do you know, monsieur, that -this morning, as I was arranging the learned man's library--he will -allow nobody but me to touch his books, and, in truth, it requires a man -with some little learning--I saw the Moor stealthily kiss a bouquet of -roses which she places on his table every morning while he is -breakfasting with you. Then she suddenly saw me, and, turning as pale as -the scarf she wears on her head, she fled as if she had committed some -great crime. I have suspected something, monsieur, for a long time, a -very long time. All this friendship, all these little attentions of -hers--I was sure that they would lead them both to love." - -"To be sure," said the marquis. "But go on, Adamas!" - -"Well, monsieur, the discovery made me laugh loud and long, not in -mockery, but with satisfaction, for one is always pleased to guess or -surprise a secret, and when you are pleased, you laugh. And so Master -Jovelin, returning to his room, asked me mildly, with his eyes, why I -was laughing so heartily, and I told him, innocently enough, to make him -laugh too--and also, I confess, to see how he would take it." - -"And how did he take it?" - -"His face shone like a sunbeam, exactly like a pretty girl's; and one -cannot but believe that happiness remakes a man; for his face, with its -great mouth and great black moustache, lighted up like a star, and he -seemed to me as beautiful as he is sometimes when he is playing his -sweet-toned bagpipe." - -"Very good, Adamas, you are training yourself to be a fine speaker. And -then?" - -"Then I went out, or rather I pretended to go out; and, on looking back -through the partly open door, I saw dear Lucilio take up the flowers, -kiss them passionately, and put them in his doublet, flowers, thorns and -all, as if he took pleasure in being pricked and feeling the soft petals -at the same time. And he paced the floor, pressing that love-token to -his breast with both hands." - -"Better and better, Adamas! What next?" - -"Then the Moor entered by another door and said to him: - -"'Is it time to call Mario for his lesson?'" - -"What was his reply?" - -"He said no with his eyes and his head; so that I could see that he -wished to detain her. She started to go away, thinking that he was busy -with some of his monkey-tricks; for she acts with him, monsieur, like a -servant who has no hope of pleasing her master. But he knocked on the -table to recall her. She went back. They looked at each other; not long, -for she soon lowered her lovely black eyes and said to him in Arabic, at -least I judged so from her manner: - -"What is your wish, master?" - -He pointed to the goblet in which she had placed the roses; and she, -seeing that they were not there, said: - -"'It must be that sly creature Adamas who took them away, for I never -forget them.'" - -"She said that?" - -"Yes, monsieur, in Arabic. I could guess at every word! Then she ran to -fetch more flowers, and he followed her to the door like a man fighting -against himself. He went back to his table, put his head in his hands, -and, my word for it, monsieur, he found the noblest sentiments -imaginable in his heart to reconcile his love with his virtue." - -"But why should he fight so against it?" cried the marquis; "does he not -know that I should be overjoyed to have him marry that beautiful, good -woman? Go, bring him to me, Adamas; he retires late and will still be at -work. Mario is asleep, and this is the most propitious moment for -discussing so delicate a subject." - - - - -LXVIII - - -The good marquis had no difficulty in confessing Lucilio. - -He frankly admitted that he had adored the Moor for a long while and -that for some time he had fancied that his love was returned. But he -summed up the situation with his concise pen. - -In the first place he was afraid of attracting persecution which he had -thus far escaped in France only by a miracle. Then, when it had seemed -to him beyond question that Richelieu, despite all his warfare against -the Reformed religion, had adopted as an inflexible policy the -maintenance of the Edict of Nantes in favor of liberty of conscience in -every form, he had decided to await Mario's marriage to Lauriane or to -some other woman who had won his heart. Whatever his dear pupil's frame -of mind might be, whatever hope or regret, placid expectation or secret -excitement, he did not choose to set before him the selfish and perilous -spectacle of a marriage for love. - -The marquis approved his friend's generous forethought; but he found an -expedient. - -"My excellent friend," he said to him, "the Moor is close upon thirty, -and you have passed your fortieth year. You are still young enough to -attract each other, and your ages are well balanced; but, without -offence, you are no longer boy and girl, to leave blank pages in the -book of your felicity! Make the most of the happy years that still -remain. Marry. I will travel with Mario for a few months, and while we -are absent I will tell him that I alone conceived the idea of a marriage -of reason between Mercedes and you. I will invent some pretext to -explain why you could not wait until our return, and when he sees you -again, his mind will be accustomed to the new condition of affairs. -Marriage always has a sobering effect, and then I trust to you to -conceal the joys of the honeymoon behind the thick clouds of prudence -and self-restraint." - -So it was that the marquis took Mario to Paris. He showed him the king -and his court, but at a distance; for society had changed greatly in the -fifteen years that worthy Sylvain had been living on his estates. The -friends of his youth were dead, or had withdrawn, as he had, from the -hurly-burly of the new society. The few great personages still on the -stage with whom he had formerly had some acquaintance, hardly remembered -him, and, except for his antiquated attire, would not have recognized -him. - -Mario's attractive and modest manners were observed however: the _Beaux -Messieurs_ were warmly welcomed in some houses of distinction, but no -one suggested taking them any higher; and indeed neither of them desired -very earnestly to approach the pale sun of Louis XIII. - -Mario was terribly disappointed when he saw the fainthearted son of -Henri IV. ride by, and the marquis had discovered in that face no -encouragement to pursue his design of obtaining the royal confirmation -of his title of marquis. - -New edicts appeared every day against the usurpation of titles; edicts -little respected, for the nobles, old and new, continued to assume names -of domains of very doubtful authenticity. Their obscurity protected -them. Bois-Doré was forced to recognize that he had no better refuge -than that. - -Furthermore, he could not avoid the discovery that in Paris nobody was a -_beau monsieur_ who was not of the court. To be sure, in their daily -drives and on Place Royale, more or less people turned to gaze at the -strange contrast between his painted face and Mario's deliciously fresh -complexion; and for some time the goodman, thinking that he was -recognized, smiled at the passers-by, and put his hand to his hat, ready -to welcome overtures which no one thought of making. That gave him an -air of dazed hesitancy and vulgar affability which aroused laughter. The -ladies who sat under the young trees in the Cours-la-Reine, or walked -back and forth fan in hand, said to one another: - -"Who is that tall old fool, pray?" - -And if those ladies were of the society in which Bois-Doré had -reappeared, or bourgeoises of the quarter where he lodged, sometimes -there would be one who would reply: - -"He is a nobleman from the provinces, who prides himself on having been -a friend of the late king." - -"Some Gascon, I suppose? They all saved France! Or some Béarnais? They -were all foster-brothers of our dear Henri!" - -"No, an old ass from Berry or Champagne. There are Gascons everywhere." - -So it was that honest Sylvain was quite effaced in that forgetful, -ostentatious crowd, strive as he would to appear to advantage there. He -said to himself with some vexation that it was better to be first in -one's village than last at court. It is certain however that, with a -little impudence and scheming, he could have pushed Mario ahead as so -many others were pushed; but he dreaded some affront on the score of his -problematical marquisate. - -He resigned himself therefore to play the part of the provincial boor, -and would have suffered terribly from ennui, had not Mario, who was -always studious and intelligently artistic in his tastes, taken him to -see the monuments of art and science which were the principal -attractions of the capital of the kingdom in his eyes. - -The pleasure and profit which the young man derived from them consoled -the old man in some measure for what he called in his secret thoughts an -abortive journey. - -He did not tell Mario of all his disappointments. He still cherished the -hope of discovering his mother's family and acquiring thereby a fine -Spanish title, an inheritance of some sort. He had written many times to -Spain to make inquiries and to furnish information concerning Mario, in -case the said family should display any interest. He had never received -any but vague, perhaps evasive replies. - -At Paris he determined to go in person to the Embassy. He was received -there by a sort of private secretary, who informed him, in substance, -that, in compliance with his frequent requests they had at last -elucidated a mysterious affair. The young woman who had eloped and -disappeared did in fact belong to the noble family of Merida, and Mario -was the issue of a secret marriage, the validity of which might be -contested. - -The young woman had left no claim to any fortune, and her family were by -no means anxious to recognize a young man reared by an old heretic, only -partially purged of his heresy. - -The marquis, deeply incensed, determined to stop there and to repay the -contempt of those haughty Spaniards with oblivion. It had cost his pride -dearly enough to besiege the doors of an embassy which he, as a former -Protestant and a good Frenchman, bitterly detested. - -And yet he was sad, and confided his distress to his inseparable Adamas. - -"Of a surety," he said to him, "the pleasantest and most honorable life -is that of the provincial nobility. But, while it is suited to those who -have fought and suffered, it may become burdensome and even shameful in -the case of a young heart like Mario's. Have I reared him with the -greatest care, have we made of him, thanks to his precocious talents, an -accomplished gentleman, fit for any station, only to bury him in a -country manor, on the pretext that he has no need to make his fortune, -and that he is tender-hearted and humane? Should he not have a little -taste of war and adventure, and by some brilliant deed win that -marquisate which the great cardinal's ideas of universal levelling may -take from him any day? I know that the child is very young, and that we -have lost no time as yet; but his inclinations seem to tend in the -direction of study, and I ransack my wits to determine how he will find -a way to distinguish himself in that direction." - -"Monsieur," replied Adamas, "if you think that your son will be more of -a cripple than you in battle, you hardly know him." - -"I do not know my son?" - -"Well, no, monsieur, you do not know him: he is a mysterious creature -who loves you so dearly that he never dares to have an idea to perplex -you or a trouble for you to share. But I know what is in the bag: Mario -dreams of war as much as of love, and the time is near at hand when, if -you do not divine his ambition, you will have him either sick or -melancholy on your hands." - -"God forbid!" cried the marquis. "I will question him on this subject -to-morrow!" - -In such a matter, when a man says to-morrow, it means that he is -inclined to shirk, and the marquis did in fact shirk. Paternal weakness -fought a great battle with paternal pride, and won the day. Mario was -not yet strong enough to endure the fatigues of war; and, furthermore, -the war with England or Spain to which all indications pointed, seemed -to be postponed for a brief space by Richelieu's mighty efforts to -create a French navy. There was no need of haste; there was plenty of -time; the opportunity would come soon enough! - -So they returned to Briantes late in the autumn and found Lucilio -married to Mercedes. - -Mario, on being informed of this event in Paris, manifested more -satisfaction than surprise. He had felt for a long while, in the burning -air which his Moor involuntarily breathed upon him, as well as in -Lucilio's gentle melancholy and in the adroit and affectionate language -of his bagpipes, the waves of passion which sometimes set his own blood -on fire. His heart felt as if it were caught in a vise at the thought of -happy love; but he had extraordinary control over himself. As his father -lived only in his life, he had at an early age accustomed himself to -conceal his emotions from him; and, when Adamas reproved him for keeping -his thoughts too much to himself, he would reply: - -"My father is old; he is wrapped up in me as a mother is in her child. -It is my duty not to shorten his days by causing him anxiety, and heaven -has entrusted to me the mission of making him live a long while." - -Lauriane was living in Poitou, and they rarely heard from her. She wrote -in an affectionate and respectful tone to the marquis, but she hardly -mentioned Mario's name, as if she dreaded to remind him of herself. - -By way of compensation she wrote in the most affectionate terms of the -Moor, Lucilio, and the faithful retainers of the family. It seemed that -her affection, held in check with those who had the first claim upon it, -instinctively took its revenge with the others. She announced several -times, with a sort of affectation, that there were divers projects of -marriage under consideration, and that she would soon inform them of her -decision, desiring, she said, to make a choice that would be agreeable -to the marquis, whom she looked upon as a second father. - -The strange feature of these alleged marriage projects was that she -recurred to them year after year, as if they were constantly abandoned -and revived, without imparting anything of interest to her friends as to -her choice; as if her real purpose were to say to them: "I do not marry -because I am not so inclined; but do not for one moment think that I am -reserving myself for you." - -Such was, in fact, her purpose in writing these letters, and her state -of mind may be thus described: - -When he took her away from Berry, intending soon to part from her, -Monsieur de Beuvre had inflicted a cruel wound upon her heart by -inventing a fable to the effect that the marquis and his heir, when -consulted by him at Bourges, had met his advances very coldly. Mario had -shown himself a very fervent Catholic on that occasion; he had sworn -that he would never enter into a _mixed_ marriage. - -Lauriane should have distrusted a father in whom the thirst for gold had -penetrated to the very entrails, and who, being in haste to go away, was -determined at any price to persuade her to marry promptly. She refused -to marry in anger and without due consideration; but she promised to -reflect upon it, and in her heart proudly abandoned the ungrateful -Mario. She had loved him at Bourges--really loved him for the first time -after years of placid friendship. And that first love of her life, -almost before it was admitted, hardly revealed to herself, she had had -to blush for in very shame, and to crush it without a sign of weakening! - -She had some suspicions; but, while her father did not swear that he -exaggerated nothing, he could at least give her his word of honor that -he had proposed their betrothal to the marquis, and that he had evaded -the proposal on the pretext that Mario was still too young to have the -idea of love suggested to him. Lauriane was too pure to realize the -risks she might have run by returning to Briantes. She remembered that, -at the moment of parting from her, Mario, who was said to be ill, had -shrugged his shoulders and turned his head away, saying: - -"You make too much ado about a little cramp. I have no pain now." - -So she said again to her father what she had said to him with all -sincerity some time before, that she had never looked upon that marriage -as a possibility; and she encouraged him to go away, as he desired to -do, promising him that she would marry any suitable aspirant who did not -inspire aversion in her. - -But such an aspirant did not appear. All those whom Madame de la -Trémouille presented to her failed to please her. She found in them the -positivism which had invaded her father like a passion, but she found it -in the form of cold and somewhat cynical selfishness. The halcyon days -of the Reformation were passing away, like the social structure of the -preceding century. The Reformed religion was heroic only under cruel -persecution, and Richelieu, crushing the remains of the party by the -inevitable logic of events, bore no resemblance to a persecutor. France -said to the Protestants by his mouth: "Confine yourselves to religious -liberty; let politics alone. Turn your faces with us against the enemies -without the realm!"--The Protestants proposed to become a republic; they -became a Vendée. - -Save the French Puritans--that redoubtable, heroic, indomitable party, -which stood at bay and immolated itself at La Rochelle two years -later--all French Protestants were at this time inclined to adhere to -the principle of French unity; but many had determined not to give in -their adhesion until after a victory which should secure favorable and -lasting terms for their party. - -Now, among those who reasoned well, but who were about to be led on to -reason ill and to choose between a foreign alliance and final -extermination, the nobility were generally speaking less pure in their -purposes than the bourgeoisie and the common people. They made -reservations in their own interest; those most highly placed insisted -upon being purchased, and translated their craving for religious liberty -into a craving for offices and money. - -Lauriane was intensely indignant at these numerous defections which were -announced every day, or which awaited their turn in shameful -anticipation. She had formed a more chivalrous idea of the honor of the -party. She was forced now to recognize the fact that her father, whose -greed had so humiliated her, was simply doing a little more tardily what -most men of his age had done all their lives, and what most young men -were eager to do in their turn. Still, Monsieur de Beuvre was one of the -best; for he had no idea of betraying his flag. He simply made haste to -make his bargain before the flag was dragged in the dust. - -It was possible that Lauriane might fall in with an exception to the -general rule. There were exceptions, for she herself was one. She did -not fall in with them, perhaps because she was so pensive and distraught -that she did not know how to look for them. - -Youth and beauty are justifiably proud. They wait to be discovered and -reveal naught themselves, because they dread to have the appearance of -offering themselves. - - - - -LXIX - - -Although we have hitherto done our utmost to follow our characters step -by step through the ordinary life of the _stay-at-home nobility_, which -our authorities enabled us to study with some care, we are forced now to -pass over a brief interval of time, and to seek the Beaux Messieurs de -Bois-Doré far from their peaceful domain. - -It was in 1629, the first day of March, I believe. Mont Genèvre, -covered with snow, presented a scene of extraordinary animation upon -both slopes, and even to the very opening of the ravine called the Pas -de Suse. - -The French army was marching upon the Duc de Savoie, that is to say upon -Spain and Austria, his trusty allies. - -The king and the cardinal climbed the mountain in spite of the intense -cold. The cannon were dragged up through the snow. It was one of those -scenes of grandeur which the French soldier has always acted so -magnificently amid the sublime grandeur of the Alps, under Napoléon as -under Richelieu, and under Richelieu as under Louis XII., without -diverting himself with attempts to dissolve the rocks, as Hannibal's -genius is said to have done, and without other artifice than intrepid -determination, ardor and cheerfulness. - -In one of the paths trodden through the snow parallel with the road, two -horsemen happened to be ascending side by side the precipitous slope of -the mountain on the French side. One was a young man of some nineteen -years, of robust frame and with a grace of movement most pleasant to -behold under the becoming warlike costume of the age. So far as colors -were concerned, the young man was dressed in accordance with his own -fancy. His equipment and his weapons, as well as his isolation, -indicated a gentleman making the campaign as a volunteer. - -Mario de Bois-Doré--the reader will assume that it is he whom I am -describing--was the comeliest cavalier in the whole army. The -development of his youthful strength had in no wise diminished the -wonderful charm of his noble and intelligent face. His expression was -like an angel's in purity; but the sprouting beard reminded one that -this youth with the divine glance was but a simple mortal; and that -young moustache faintly outlined the curve of a smile, somewhat -indifferent, perhaps, but with a cordial kindliness showing through its -melancholy. - -Magnificent brown hair, of a soft shade and curling naturally, framed -the face to the neck, and fell in a heavy braid--the _cadenette_ was -more in vogue than ever--below the shoulder. The face wore a delicate -flush, but was pale rather than ruddy. The exquisite distinction of -manners and dress was the principal characteristic of that figure, which -did not attract the glance, but from which the glance found it difficult -to detach itself when it had rested upon it. - -Such was the impression of the horseman whom chance had brought side by -side with Mario. - -The last-mentioned horseman was about forty years of age; he was thin -and sallow, with regular features, very mobile lips, a piercing eye, and -an expression of cunning tempered by a disposition to serious -reflection. He was dressed in rather a problematical costume, all in -black, and in a short cassock, like a priest on a journey, but armed and -booted like a soldier. - -His bony, active horse easily kept pace with his companion's ardent and -impetuous steed. - -The two horsemen had saluted each other without speaking, and Mario had -slackened his pace to allow the other, as his senior, to ride first. The -traveller seemed to appreciate that scrupulous courtesy, and declined to -pass the younger man. - -"In truth, monsieur," said Mario, "our horses seem to keep step, which -fact proves the good-will of both, for I have difficulty in keeping mine -to a pace which does not leave all the others behind, and I have had to -give my companions a long start, in order not to reach the top of the -pass before them." - -"That which is a fault in your noble beast is a good quality in mine," -replied the stranger. "As I almost always travel alone, I go my way -without giving anyone reason to blame me for fatiguing my horse. But may -I ask you, monsieur, where I have had the honor of seeing you? Your -amiable face is not altogether strange to me." - -Mario looked closely at him and said: - -"The last time that I had the honor of seeing you was at Bourges, four -years since, at the baptism of Monseigneur le Duc d'Enghien." - -"Then you are really the young Comte de Bois-Doré?" - -"Yes, Monsieur l'Abbé Poulain," replied Mario, putting his hand once -more to his plumed hat. - -"I am overjoyed to find you as you are, monsieur le comte," rejoined the -rector of Briantes; "you have grown in stature, in attractiveness, and -in merit as well, I can see by your manners. But do not call me _abbé_; -for I am not one as yet, alas! and it is possible that I may never be." - -"I know that Monsieur le Prince has always refused to assent to your -appointment; but I thought----" - -"That I had found something better than the Abbey of Varennes? Yes and -no. While awaiting the opportunity to assume some title, I succeeded in -leaving Berry, and chance attached me to the fortunes of the cardinal, -in the service of Père Joseph, to whom I am devoted body and soul. I -can say to you, between ourselves, that I am one of his messengers; and -that is why I have a good horse." - -"I congratulate you, monsieur. Père Joseph's service can call for no -work that a patriotic Frenchman may not do, and the cardinal's fortune -is the destiny of France." - -"Do you really mean what you say, Monsieur Mario?" queried the priest -with an incredulous smile. - -"Yes, monsieur, on my honor!" the young man replied, with an accent of -sincerity which overcame the diplomatic priest's suspicions. "I do not -wish Monsieur le Cardinal to know that he has two cordial admirers in my -father and myself; but do us the honor to believe that we are loyal -enough to desire to serve the cause of the great minister and of the -fair kingdom of France, with our hearts and bodies, as well as you, if -we can." - -"I believe in you implicitly," replied Monsieur Poulain, "but I have -less faith in monsieur your father! For example, he did not send you to -the siege of La Rochelle last year. You were still very young, I know; -but younger men than you were there, and you must have chafed at having -to miss the glorious rendezvous of all the young nobility of France." - -"Monsieur Poulain," rejoined Mario, with some severity, "I thought that -you were bound to my father by the ties of gratitude. All that he was -able to do for you he did, and if the Abbey of Varennes has been -secularized for the benefit of Monsieur le Prince, you can not blame my -father, who was largely defrauded in that affair." - -"Oh! I do not doubt it!" exclaimed Monsieur Poulain; "give me the Prince -de Condé of all men to tangle up accounts! and I blame him and him -alone. As for your father, monsieur le comte, let me tell you that I -still love and esteem him infinitely. Far from having any thought of -injuring him, I would give my life to know that he had devoted himself -without mental reservation, to the Catholic cause." - -"My father does not need to devote himself to the cause of his country, -monsieur! I mean to say that he warmly embraces the cardinal's cause -against all the enemies of France." - -"Even against the Huguenots?" - -"The Huguenots are no more, monsieur! Let us leave the dead in peace!" - -Monsieur Poulain was impressed anew with the dignified expression of -that sweet face. He felt that he was not dealing with an ambitious and -frivolous youth, like others with whom he was familiar. - -"You are right, monsieur," he said. "Peace to the ashes of the men of La -Rochelle, and may God hear you, to the end that they may not come to -life again at Montauban and elsewhere. Since your father has recovered -so fully from his religious indifference, let us hope that he will, if -need be, permit you to march against the rebels in the South." - -"My father always has permitted me to follow my own inclination; but -understand, monsieur, that it will never lead me to march against -Protestants, unless I see that the monarchy is in great danger. Never -will I draw the sword against Frenchmen, from ambition or vainglory; -never can I forget that that cause, once glorious, now brought low, -placed Henri IV. on the throne. You were reared in the spirit of the -League, Monsieur Poulain, and now you are fighting against it with all -your strength. You have changed from the wrong to the right, from the -false to the true; I have lived and I shall die in the path upon which -my feet were placed: loyalty to my country, detestation of intrigues -with the foreigner. I am entitled to less credit than you, having never -had occasion to change my views; but I promise you that I will do my -best, and that while respecting freedom of conscience in others, I will -fall with all my strength upon the allies of Monsieur de Savoie." - -"You forget that they are the allies of the Reformed religion to-day." - -"Say of Monsieur de Rohan! Thereby Monsieur de Rohan is consummating the -ruin of his party; and that is why I said to you: Peace to the dead!" - -"Well, well!" said Père Joseph's trusted agent, "I see that, like the -excellent marquis, you have a romantic mind, and that you will be -guided, according to his example, by sentiment. May I, without -indiscretion, inquire for the health of monsieur your father?" - -"You will soon see him in person, monsieur. He will be glad to see you. -He is riding ahead, and we shall overtake him within a quarter of an -hour." - -"What do you say? Monsieur de Bois-Doré, at seventy-five or eighty -years of age----" - -"Takes the field against the enemies and assassins of Henri IV.! Does -that surprise you, Monsieur Poulain?" - -"No, my child," replied the ex-Leaguer, now become, by the force of -events, a continuator and admirer of the policy of the Béarnais; "but -it seems to me that he is a little late in setting about it!" - -"What would you have, monsieur? he did not choose to take the field all -alone; he waited for the King of France to set the example." - -"Faith," said Monsieur Poulain with a smile, "you have an answer for -everything! I long to salute the marquis's noble old age! But it is -impossible to trot here. Pray tell me of a man to whom I owe my life: -Master Lucilio Giovellino, otherwise called Jovelin, the great -bag-piper." - -"He is happy, thank heaven! He has married my dearest friend, and they -are doing us the favor to take charge of our house and our property -during our absence." - -"Your dearest friend? Do you refer to Mercedes, the beautiful Moor? I -should have supposed that you preferred to her--with feelings of a -different nature, it is true--a younger and even lovelier friend." - -"Do you mean Madame de Beuvre?" rejoined Mario, with a frankness in -striking contrast to Monsieur Poulain's insinuating curiosity. "I can -readily answer you as I would answer the whole world. She is, in very -truth, a person whom I loved fervently in my childhood, and whom I shall -respect all my life; but her affection for me is very placid, and you -may question me concerning her without reserve." - -"Is she not married yet?" - -"I have no idea, monsieur. As we have been travelling for several -months, we have little news of our friends at a distance." - -Monsieur Poulain scrutinized Mario by stealth. He had the tranquillity -of a broken heart, but not the prostration of a hopeless soul. - -"Do you not know," said the rector, "that Monsieur de Beuvre was with -the English fleet before La Rochelle?" - -"I know that he was killed there, and that Lauriane has no one but -herself to depend upon." - -"She was in Poitou when the Duc de Trémouille, after the desertion of -the English, went to the king's camp to abjure his heresy." - -"She did not accompany him there!" said Mario, hastily. "She asked -permission to share the captivity of the heroic Duchesse de Rohan, who -refused to submit; and, having failed to obtain that favor, she was -preparing to return to Berry when we left our province." - -"I knew all that," said Monsieur Poulain, who seemed, in truth, to be -well posted upon all subjects. - -"If you did not know it," Mario replied, "I should not regret having -told you. Surely you would not furnish the Prince de Condé with a new -pretext for confiscating Madame de Beuvre's property?" - -"No, indeed!" replied the rector laughing outright, with a sort of -cordiality. "You reason well, and a man may, without great risk, be as -frank as you are, when he knows his companions. But have entire -confidence in me, for I have broken entirely with the Jesuits, at my -risk and peril!" - -Monsieur Poulain spoke the truth. - -A few moments later he was in the Marquis de Bois-Doré's presence, and -the interview was very civil--almost friendly--on both sides. - - - - -LXX - - -The marquis did not need to convoke the ban and arrière-ban in order to -raise a small troop of volunteers. His best men, sure of being well -rewarded, had followed him enthusiastically. - -The intrepid Aristandre took a keen personal delight in the idea of -thrashing messieurs the Spaniards, whom he detested in memory of Sancho; -the faithful Adamas rode a gentle palfrey in the rear-guard, and carried -in his saddle-bags his master's perfumes and curling-tongs, nothing -more! - -Save for a touch of the tongs to what little hair was still left on his -neck, and a little scented water for his own enjoyment, the marquis was -as simple in his toilet as he had formerly been dazzling. No more wigs, -no more paint, almost no lace, embroidery and purl; simply an ample -doublet of woolen cloth, with open sleeves, short-clothes of the same -material extending below the knee, boots fitting tight to the leg, with -plain linen ruffles falling over the tops, a broad unembroidered -neckband, and over the whole an immense, thick fur-lined cloak--such was -the costume of the Beau Monsieur de Bois-Doré. - -The metamorphosis can be explained in a few words. - -Mario had fought a duel to discipline an impertinent knave who in his -presence had made sport of the marquis's plaster mask, black hair and -innumerable bows and buckles. Mario had dealt severely with his -adversary--it was his first affaire!--but Bois-Doré, being informed of -the episode after it was over, did not choose to expose his son to a -repetition of it. Suddenly, and without a word to any one, he abandoned -his dye and his wig one day on the pretext that Monsieur de Richelieu -was justified in proscribing luxury, and that everyone should set a good -example. Being thus resigned to appear old and ugly, he heroically -appeared before his family. But to his great surprise they all uttered -an exclamation of pleasure, and the Moor artlessly said to him: - -"Ah! how handsome you are, master! I thought you much older than you -are!" - -The fact is that the marquis was exceedingly well preserved under his -mask, and was extraordinarily handsome considering his great age. He did -not know--he was not likely to know--what infirmities were. He still -retained his teeth; his ample, bald forehead was furrowed by graceful -wrinkles, without a trace of malice or hatred; his moustache and royale, -white as snow, stood out against his yellowish-brown complexion, and his -great eye, keen and laughing, still shone mildly through his long, -bushy, bristling eyebrows. - -He was still erect as a young poplar, and stiff in proportion; but he no -longer shrank from placing his foot in Aristandre's powerful hand to -mount his horse. Once in the saddle, he was as firm as a rock. - -Thereafter he received so many sincere compliments upon his beautiful -old age, that he changed his whole system of coquetry: instead of -concealing his age, he exaggerated it, representing himself as eighty -years old although he was but seventy-seven, and taking the keenest -pleasure in astonishing his young comrades-in-arms by his tales of the -old wars, long buried in the archives of his memory. - -On the 3d of March--that is to say on the second day after the meeting -of the Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré with Monsieur Poulain--the royal -vanguard, consisting of ten or twelve thousand picked men, camped at -Chaumont, the last village on the frontier. The volunteers, having no -materials for a camp, passed the night as best they could in the -village. - -The marquis tranquilly retired in the first bed that came to hand, and -fell asleep like a man inured to the trade of war, who knew how to make -the best of the hours of repose, to sleep for one hour when he had but -one, and for twelve, to provide against emergencies, when he had nothing -better to do. - -Mario, intensely excited and impatient to fight, sat up with several, -young men, volunteers like himself, with whom he had become acquainted -on the road. - -It was in a wretched inn, the common room of which was so crowded that -one could hardly turn about, and so filled with tobacco smoke that men -could not recognize one another. - -While the regular troops were as sedate and silent as the most rigid -community of monks, the bands of volunteers were merry and uproarious. -They drank and laughed and sang obscene songs, recited erotic or amusing -verses; they talked of politics and love-making; they quarreled and -embraced. - -Mario sat by the fireplace dreaming, amid the uproar. Close beside him -stood Clindor, become as stout-hearted a youth as his master, but -somewhat awed to find himself surrounded by the nobility. He took no -part in the noisy conversation; but he was burning to muster courage to -do so, while Mario's reverie was cradled by the tumult, which neither -tempted nor annoyed him. - -Suddenly Mario saw a creature of most extraordinary aspect enter the -room. It was a small, thin, dark girl, dressed in an incomprehensible -costume; five or six skirts of brilliant hues, each one shorter than the -next below; a waist glistening with tinsel and spangles, a quantity of -multi-colored plumes in her crimped and curled hair, innumerable -necklaces and gold and silver chains; she was covered with bracelets, -rings, and glass ornaments, to her very shoes. - -That strange creature was of no age. She might have been a precocious -child or a worn-out woman. She was very small, ugly when she chose to -smile and talk like other people, beautiful when she flew into a temper, -which latter seemed to be with her a constant necessity or a normal -condition. She insulted the inn-servants because they did not serve her -quickly enough, swore at the troopers because they did not make room for -her, clawed those who tried to take liberties with her, and retorted -with indescribable blasphemy upon those who made sport of her absurd -costume and her savage humor. - -Mario was wondering with what purpose so shrewish a creature had -introduced herself into such company, when a stout woman with a pimply -face, absurdly bedizened with wretched gewgaws, also entered the room, -laden with boxes like a mule, and called for silence. She had some -difficulty in obtaining it, but at last delivered in French a sort of -announcement, overflowing with hyperbolical laudation of her companion, -the incomparable Pilar, Moorish dancer and infallible soothsayer, -possessed of all the learning of the Arabs. - -That name Pilar aroused Mario from his lethargy. He examined the two -gypsies, and, despite the change that had taken place in them, -recognized in one the pupil, victim and executioner of the miserable La -Flèche; in the other the ex-Bellinde of Briantes, the ex-Proserpine of -Captain Macabre, now styling herself Narcissa Bobolina, lute-player, -dealer in laces, and on occasion mender and plaiter of ruffles. - -The company assented to an exhibition of the talents proclaimed. -Bellinde played the lute with more energy than correctness, and the -dancer, for whom they made room by climbing on the tables, gave a -display of epileptic agility, her extraordinary suppleness and energetic -grace winning frantic applause from an assemblage already much excited -by wine, tobacco and discussion. - -Pilar's success with those inflamed imaginations simply intensified -Mario's disgust, and he was about to retire; but he had sufficient -curiosity to listen to the predictions which she was beginning to make -on general subjects, while waiting for someone to ask her to reveal the -secret of his future. - -"Speak, speak, young sibyl!" was the cry on all sides. "Shall we be -lucky in war? Shall we force the Pas de Suse to-morrow?" - -"Yes, if you are in a state of grace," she replied disdainfully; "but as -there is not a man among you who is not covered with mortal sins as with -blotches of leprosy, I am sorely afraid for your soft white skins!" - -"Stay," said someone, "we have here a chaste and gentle stripling, an -angel from heaven, Mario de Bois-Doré! Let him begin the test and -question the soothsayer." - -"Mario de Bois-Doré?" cried Pilar, her sparkling eyes becoming dull and -lifeless. "He is here, you say? where? where? Show him to me!" - -"Come, Bois-Doré," they shouted on all sides, "do not hide your face, -but hold out your hands." - -Mario came forth from his corner and showed himself to the two women, -one of whom darted forward to grasp his hand, while the other turned her -head away as if to avoid being recognized. - -"I saw you, Bellinde," said Mario to the latter; "and as for you, -Pilar," he added, withdrawing his hand, which she seemed to wish to put -to her lips, "look at _my lines_, that is enough." - -"Mario de Bois-Doré!" cried Pilar, suddenly losing control of herself, -"I know them well enough, the lines in your fatal hand! I studied them -carefully enough long ago. I never told your fortune; it is too cruel -and too unhappy." - -"And I know your science," retorted Mario, shrugging his shoulders. "It -depends on your whim, your hatred, your folly." - -"Very well, put it to the test!" cried Pilar, more and more incensed; -"and if you do not believe in my science, do not fear to listen to your -sentence. To-morrow, my pretty Mario, you will sleep on your back, on -the edge of a ditch; but to no purpose will your lovely eyes be open and -staring, you will never again see the light of the stars." - -"Because there will be clouds in the sky," observed Mario, undisturbed. - -"No, the weather will be fair; but you will be dead!" said the sibyl, -wiping the cold perspiration from her forehead with her hair. "Enough! -let no one else question me! I shall say things that are too harsh to -all of you here!" - -"You will take back your words, you wicked she-devil!" cried the young -man who had procured for Mario the pleasure of this agreeable prophecy. -"Do not let her leave the room, friends! These infernal witches lead us -into death by the confusion they sow in our minds. They are the cause of -our losing, in the face of danger, the confidence that saves. Let us -compel her to swallow her words and to confess that she said them from -pure deviltry." - -Pilar, supple as a snake, had already glided from the room. Some ran -after her. Bellinde fled by another door. - -"Let them go," said Mario. "They are two venomous beasts whose story I -will tell you some other time. I am not at all disturbed by the -prediction; I have paid for my knowledge of what that noble science is -worth!" - -They pressed Mario with questions. - -"To-morrow," he said, "after the battle, after my threatened death! -Permit me now to go to see if my father is carefully guarded by his -people; for I know one of those women, perhaps both of them, to be quite -capable of seeking to injure him." - -"And we," replied his young friends, "will make a circuit of the village -to be sure that there is no band of thieving, murdering gypsies in -hiding anywhere." - -They made the circuit with great care. It seemed quite useless, the -regular camp having sentries posted and vigilant patrols who covered all -the neighborhood to a considerable distance. They learned from the -villagers that the two women had arrived alone on the preceding day and -lodged in a house which they pointed out. They declared that the women -were then in the house, and Mario did not consider it necessary to set a -watch upon them. It was enough in his judgment, to guard the house in -which his father was. - -The night passed very quietly; too quietly for the liking of the -impatient young gentlemen, who hoped to be awakened by the signal for -battle. But they were disappointed. The Prince of Piedmont, -brother-in-law of Louis XIII., had come on behalf of the Duc de Savoie -to open negotiations, and the conferences effected a suspension of -hostilities to the great dissatisfaction of the French army. - -The following day passed in feverish suspense, and the gypsy's -prediction, having come to naught, ceased to alarm Mario's friends. - -The two vagabonds had packed up and passed through the vanguard on their -way to France, there to ply their wandering trade. There was no fear -that they would be allowed to retrace their steps. The cardinal had -issued the strictest orders that all women and children, and especially -women of disorderly lives, should be rigorously excluded from the -camp-followers. Lewd women, gypsies, dancing girls and sorceresses were -threatened with death if caught within the lines. - -During the evening of the 4th of March, Mario was called upon to narrate -the adventures of big Bellinde and little Pilar. He did it in a clear -and simple way that drew upon him the attention of all who were present. -Hitherto his modesty had prevented him from attracting notice: his -interesting narrative, and the touching, natural, and at the same time -entertaining way in which he told it caused his delighted comrades to -forget the pleasures of the gaming-table and the advanced hour. - -He might, had he chosen, have told the whole story of his life; but an -indescribable feeling of timidity made him omit any mention of -Lauriane's name. - - - - -LXXI - - -It was after midnight when they separated. Each group repaired at once -to the more or less execrable lodgings it had secured, and Mario was -standing with Clindor at the door of his own lodgings, when a vague -shadow, crouching on the threshold, rose and came toward him. - -It was Pilar. - -"Mario," she said, "do not be afraid of me. I have never injured you, -and I have no reason to wish your old father ill. I do not espouse -Bellinde's hatred of you." - -"Does Bellinde still hate my father?" said Mario. "Has she forgotten -that he saved her from being hanged as Captain Macabre was?" - -"Yes, Bellinde has forgotten it, or perhaps she never knew it; but it is -too late to tell her of it, and she doesn't hate anyone now." - -"What do you mean?" - -"That I have done to her what she wanted to do to you." - -"What was that? Tell me!" - -"No, Mario, it's of no use; you would not love me any more for it; and -you hate me now, I know." - -"I hate no one," replied Mario; "I hate evil, and evil instincts horrify -me. You have retained yours, unfortunate girl! I knew it yesterday, when -you took a frantic delight in trying to disturb my mind. You will never -succeed, you may as well understand that and leave me in peace; it is -better for you that I forget you." - -"Listen, Mario," exclaimed Pilar half aloud, in a choking voice. "This -is not the way to treat me. Really, it is not, if you love anyone on -earth! for I love you and I have always loved you. Yes, in the days when -we were equally poor, sleeping on the same heather and begging on the -same road, I was in love with you. I was born so; I cannot remember a -single day in my whole life when I was not consumed by the passion of -love or hatred. I never had any childhood! I was born of flame and I -shall die of flame, a genuine spark from the stake! What does it matter? -Even so, I am worth more to you than your Lauriane, who has always -despised you and who will never love anything but her old -heretics--luckily for her! Yes, luckily for her, I tell you! for I know -all about both of your lives. I have been twice in your province, and -one day I passed close to you without your recognizing me. You tossed me -a small coin. See, here it is at my neck, concealed under my necklaces -as my most precious treasure; I made a hole in it, and I wrote your name -on it with the point of a knife. It is my talisman. When I no longer -have it, I shall die!" - -"Come, come," said Mario, "enough of this nonsense! What do you want -now? Why did you return here at the peril of your life, and why did you -wait for me at this door? Give me back that coin, and take these gold -pieces which you may need." - -"Keep your gold, Mario; I do not need it; I wish to keep and I shall -keep your pledge, although you blush to know that your name is written -on my breast. I have come here to tell you my story, and you must listen -to it." - -"Tell it quickly then; it is very cold and I am sleepy." - -"I wish to tell it to you alone, and your page is listening. Come -outside the walls with me." - -"No, my page is sleeping against the door. Speak here, and make haste, -or I leave you." - -"Listen then, I shall soon have told it all. You know that my father was -hanged and my mother burned!" - -"Yes, I remember that you often told me so. Well?" - -"Well, La Flèche brought me up to torment me. It was he who broke my -bones to make me more flexible, and carried me about in a cage to make -me ill and frantic. He exhibited me like a wild beast that bites -everybody." - -"But you took a horrible revenge upon him, did you not?" - -"Yes, I suffocated him with sand and stones and dirt, when he was -calling: 'Help! I am thirsty! I am thirsty!'--One of his arms still -moved, and he tried to choke me with it. But, at the risk of my life, I -forced what life he had left down his throat. Didn't I owe him that? -Wasn't it my right? You would have saved him perhaps, and he would have -paid you like Bellinde, who, but for me, would have succeeded in -poisoning you all yesterday, you and your father and your servants, in -order, so she said, to fulfil the prediction I had made before -witnesses, and to protect my fame as a soothsayer." - -"And then you----" - -"I owed her that, too! Listen, listen to my story! After avenging myself -on La Flèche, I hid in the pavilion in your garden. I had seen that you -were angry with me, and I was waiting for your anger to pass. I thought -that you would look for me, that you would be anxious about me, and -would keep me in your château to love me. But toward evening, you came -there with your Lauriane, and you told her that you hated me and I heard -every word! Then I dropped a stone on her to kill her, and I hid myself. -But you thought the stone had fallen of itself and you left me there. - -"I passed the night there, dying with cold and hunger. I was in a frenzy -of rage; that kept me up. I cursed you both; I cursed myself for having -offended you. I meant to let myself die; but I had not the courage, and -as I wanted nothing more of you, whom I believed that I hated, I went to -Brilbault to get Sancho's money, which La Flèche had made me steal two -or three months before, at La Caille-Bottée's house. - -"In those days I didn't know the value of money, and I hated La Flèche -so bitterly that I gave it all back to Sancho, who had hidden it so -carefully that he was able to manage the gypsies with promises and a few -crowns from time to time. But I knew where he had buried his treasure, -and there was a good deal of it left; a good deal to me, at least, I -needed so little. I divided it into several parts and hid them in -different places. - -"I had taken it into my head that I could live alone without being -dependent on anybody, and wander all over the world at will, child that -I was! But I soon got tired of it, and as I happened to fall in with -Bellinde, who was flying from the country, with her head shaved and in a -miserable plight, I told her that I had some little hidden treasures, -but was very careful not to tell her where they were! Oh! how she -flattered me, tormented me, made me tipsy and questioned me even in my -sleep, trying to find out! She never lost the hope of extorting my -secret from me; that is why she became my mother and my servant, always -fawning on me and betraying me. Ah! yes, she betrayed me shamefully! She -sold me, she abandoned me when I was still a child; and when, later, I -realized and felt my shame, I swore that I would be revenged upon her -when I no longer needed her. Now, the crows are feeding oh her flesh, -and it was a righteous deed, God knows!" - -"You are a wretched, horrible girl!" said Mario. "Now have you -finished?" - -"Now, I want you to love me, Mario, or I will avenge myself on your -Lauriane, whom you still love, I know that; for you didn't choose to -speak of her to your comrades in the inn just now. Oh! I was there too, -hidden in the garret, where I heard all the evil you said of me." - -"Since you heard all, how can you be mad enough to ask me to love you?" - -"I am not mad! One can pass from hatred to love, I know by my own -experience. You abhor and adore at the same time. Besides, you admitted -that I had fine eyes now, and slender arms, and a sort of diabolical -beauty. That is what you said at the inn just now. And many of those -gentlemen offered me the night before money to buy other silk skirts and -other ear-rings, because, beautiful or ugly, I had turned their heads. -But I want nothing from them and nothing from you! I still have money -hidden in Berry, and I can go there when I choose. Beware, Mario! Your -Lauriane will answer to me for you. Take me with you, or renounce her." - -"As you confess your evil purposes so boldly, I arrest you," said Mario. - -He tried to seize her, being determined to turn her over to the camp -authorities; but he seized nothing but her scarf: the girl herself, -fleeter and more unsubstantial than the clouds driven by the wind, -eluded him and vanished. He pursued her and might have caught her, for -he too knew how to run; but he had hardly turned the corner when the -bugles sounded boots and saddles; it was the signal of departure for the -long-expected battle. - -Mario forgot the wild threats that had excited him and hastened to his -father, who was hurriedly dressing. - -At daybreak the whole army was on the march. - -"The Pas de Suse is a gorge about a quarter of a league in length, in -some places less than twenty paces wide, and obstructed here and there -by fallen rocks. The tergiversation of the Prince of Piedmont had had no -other purpose than to delay the advance of our army for a few days. The -enemy had used the interval to good advantage in strengthening their -position. - -"The gorge was intersected by three strong barricades protected by -bastions and ditches. The cliffs commanding it on each side were alive -with soldiers, and protected by small redoubts. - -"Lastly, the cannon of Fort Tallasse, built on a neighboring mountain, -swept the open space between Chaumont and the entrance to the gorge. It -was one of those positions where it seems possible for a handful of men -to check the advance of an army. - -"Nothing, however, could check the _furie française_."[10] - -So many accomplished historians have described this glorious action, -that we shrink from attempting the task after them; it is not our -business to write history according to official facts, but to seek it in -episodes that have been overlooked. That is why we shall follow the -Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré through the carnage, and not allow -ourselves to be dazzled by the majesty of the picture as a whole. An -additional reason for adopting this course is that they had little -leisure to contemplate it themselves. - -It was a magnificent scene: a combat of heroes on a sublime stage! - -The first cannon-shot awoke echoes of intense excitement in Mario's -heart. How he passed the first barricade, whether upon a winged horse or -"upon the fiery breath of the god Mars himself;" how he forgot his sworn -promise to his father not to leave his side, he never knew. All the -passion of his soul, all the fever in his blood, ordinarily restrained -by modesty and filial love, produced a sort of volcanic eruption within -him. - -He even forgot for a moment that his father was following him into the -very midst of the fray, and, in order not to lose sight of him, was -exposing himself to no less risk. - -Aristandre was there, it is true, stationed like a marble wall about his -master; but Mario, when the fighting was most desperate, turned more -than once to look for the old man's gray plume, which towered above all -the rest, and each time, as he saw it waving still, he thanked God and -trusted to his lucky star. - -The whole affair was carried through so impetuously that it did not cost -France the lives of fifty men. It was one of those miraculous days when -every man has faith, and when nothing is impossible. - -The position carried, Mario was galloping along the Suse road in pursuit -of the fugitives, among whom was the Duc de Savoie in person, when he -saw a masked horseman riding toward him at full speed on his right. - -"Halt, halt!" he shouted; "the king's service before everything! Take my -despatches! I know you; I trust you!" - -As he spoke, the horseman slipped from his horse in a swoon, while the -horse himself, utterly exhausted, fell on his knees. - -Mario was the only one of the young men who had the self-restraint to -renounce the opportunity to display his prowess farther; he leaped from -his horse and picked up the sealed package which the courier had -dropped. - -But as he was about turning back toward the royal camp, a party of armed -men, who seemed not to have taken part in the action, and who were -evidently pursuing the messenger without regard to where they were -going, suddenly appeared at Mario's right and rode toward him, shouting -in Italian that his life would be spared if he surrendered the package -without giving the alarm. - -Mario shouted for help with all his strength. No one heard him. His -father was still far behind, his companions already far ahead. He fired -his carbine to attract attention, and, to avoid wasting his shot, aimed -it at his assailants, one of whom rolled in the dust. Mario did not wait -for the others. He had remounted, and rode away like an arrow, amid a -hailstorm of bullets, some of which lodged in his hat, others in the -bank by the road. - -He heard a tumult behind him, yells, shots. He paid no heed and did not -turn. - -He had not seen the messenger's face or recognized his voice. He -regretted having to abandon to the enemy a man who might be useful. But -if was of the utmost importance to save the despatches, and it was only -by a miracle that he saved them. - -His retrograde course surprised those whom he met; At a short distance -from the royal headquarters, he met his father, who was alarmed to see -him pass thus without stopping, and supposed that he was wounded and -that his horse was running away. - -But Mario shouted: "Nothing! nothing!" and vanished in a cloud of dust. - -At first he was turned away from the king's tent; he at once determined -upon his course of action and hastened to the cardinal's. - -The cardinal had already been exposed to so many attempts at -assassination that it was no easy matter to obtain access to him. But -the despatches which Mario waved above his head, and the excellent young -man's winning countenance suddenly inspired the great minister with -entire confidence. He summoned him to his presence and took the package, -which Mario, in his haste, did not think to present to him with one knee -on the ground. - - -[Footnote 10: Henri Martin, _History of France_.] - - - - -LXXII - - -The cardinal read the despatch. - -It contained some good news: perhaps a report of the small number of -troops that Gonzalez of Cordova had before Casal; perhaps of a -conspiracy of the queens against the power which saved France. - -Whatever it may have been, the cardinal folded the despatch with a -shrewd smile and looked up at Mario, saying: - -"Propitious fate has ordained everything so well to-day, that it has -chosen an archangel for messenger. Who are you, monsieur, and how does -it happen that you are the bearer of such a despatch?" - -"I am a volunteer," Mario replied. "I took this despatch from the hand -of a dying man, which was held out to me in the midst of our pursuit of -the enemy. He said to me: 'The king's service before everything.'--I -could not obtain access to the king, so I thought I would seek access to -your eminence." - -"So you thought that it was all the same, in the sense that the king can -have no secrets from the minister?" - -"I thought that he should have none," replied Mario, calmly. - -"What is your name?" - -"Mario de Bois-Doré." - -"Your age?" - -"Nineteen years." - -"Were you at La Rochelle?" - -"No, monseigneur." - -"Why not?" - -"I do not care to fight against those of the Reformed religion." - -"Are you one of them?" - -"No, monseigneur." - -"But you approve of them?" - -"I pity them." - -"If you have any favor to ask of me, do it quickly, for time is -precious." - -"Give us days like this often, that is all that I ask," replied Mario; -and, in his eagerness not to waste the cardinal's time, he took his -leave without observing that His Eminence was inclined to speak further -with him. - -But other duties demanded the great minister's attention. He turned to -something else and forgot Mario. - -On the following day, as they were pitching their camp at Suse, Mario -thought that he saw Monsieur Poulain pass dressed as a countryman. He -called him, but received no reply. - -Monsieur Poulain was in hiding, according to his custom. Being regularly -employed upon secret missions, the ex-rector showed his face as little -as possible in certain localities, and never appeared openly in the -presence of the eminent personages who employed him. - -While the king--that is to say the cardinal--was receiving the Duc de -Savoie's submission at Suse, which ceremony necessarily lasted several -days, the marquis was reposing after his excitement. - -Although Richelieu's campaigns in nowise resembled the partizan warfare -of his youthful days, Bois-Doré had borne himself as tranquilly as if -he had never left the battle-field; but it had been a rude shock to him -to see Mario subjected to that test. In the first place, he had been -afraid that Mario would not come up to his hopes; for, since the -terrible night of the attack upon Briantes and Sancho's death, Mario had -often exhibited much repugnance for bloodshed. Sometimes, indeed, when -he saw how little interest he took in the siege of La Rochelle, which -excited all the youthful minds in their neighborhood, the marquis, -although well satisfied with his principles, had been somewhat afraid of -his prudence. But when he saw him rushing upon the Spaniards and -climbing over the redoubts in the Pas de Suse, he thought him far too -rash, and asked pardon of God for bringing him there. At last, however, -he had recovered confidence, and, upon learning of the episode of the -despatch, he wept for joy and chattered with pleasure in the bosom of -the faithful Adamas. - -Adamas attracted attention in the town by his arrogant airs and his -utter contempt for everybody except Monsieur le Marquis and Monsieur le -Comte de Bois-Doré. Aristandre was well pleased to have killed many -Piedmontese, but he would have liked to kill more Spaniards. Clindor had -not behaved badly. He was terribly frightened at the beginning, but he -said that he was all ready to go through it again. - -But Mario, amid the gratification of all his dear ones, was oppressed by -profound disquietude. Although he despised vain predictions, and had -passed through his baptism of fire without thinking of them, he trembled -at the recollection of a foolish threat, and Pilar appeared again and -again in his dreams, as the spirit of evil, in the guise of an invisible -and intangible enemy. He learned, to his cost, that the weakest -adversaries may, by a perseverance of hatred, become the most -formidable. He had Lauriane constantly before his eyes; it seemed to him -that she was threatened by some terrible danger. He took his fears for -presentiments. - -One morning he returned to Chaumont, as if for exercise. He inquired for -the little gypsy to no purpose. He rode over to Mont Genèvre, and -learned that a woman's body had been found there on the morning of the -3d of March. At first they had thought that she was frozen to death; but -when they buried her they noticed that her lips and her neckerchief bore -the marks of burning, as if she had been forced to swallow some -corrosive poison. The mountaineers who gave Mario this information -proposed to show him the body. They had buried it in the snow -temporarily, the ground being frozen so hard that a grave could not -easily be dug. - -Mario at once identified the body as Bellinde's. So Pilar had told the -truth. She had disposed of her companion; she might by the same means -dispose of her rival. - -Mario returned to Suse at full speed and told his father the whole -story. - -"Let me go to Briantes," he said. "Await me here to continue the -campaign, if it is to be continued. If a definitive treaty is signed, -you will know it in a few days, and will join me at home, without haste -and without tiring yourself. I can go more quickly alone, quickly enough -to arrive before that detestable creature, who has neither the means nor -the power to travel by post." - -The marquis consented. Mario instantly made his arrangements to start -the next day with Clindor. - -During the evening Monsieur Poulain visited them, with the utmost -precaution. He was in most excellent spirits, and, at the same time, -most mysterious. - -"Monsieur le marquis," he said to Bois-Doré, when he was alone with him -and Mario, "I owed you much before, and I shall owe my fortune to your -amiable son! The valuable despatch of which I was the bearer, and which -he succeeded in saving, assures me a less dangerous and more honorable -place in the confidence of Père Joseph, that is to say, of the -cardinal. I have come to pay my debt, and to inform you that your sole -ambition is gratified. The king confirms your claim to the marquisate of -Bois-Doré, on the sole condition that you shall construct somewhere on -your domains a house to which you shall give that name, and which shall, -by royal letters patent, be made transmissible to your heirs and their -descendants. His eminence hopes that you will continue to serve in his -army, if the war continues, and he will avail himself of his first -leisure moment to summon you to his presence, in order to congratulate -you upon the courage and devotion of the _old man_ and the _child_; I -ask your pardon, those were his words. Monsieur le cardinal noticed you -both in the charge, and he afterward inquired your names. He was also -particularly gratified with you, monsieur le comte, because you asked -him simply for more fighting as your reward. I had the honor to appear -before him in my humble person, and to tell him the story of my perils -and your own, not forgetting that, at eleven years of age, you killed -with your own hand your father's murderer; and lastly I reminded him -that he was indebted for the receipt of news that was no less -advantageous than agreeable to him to this same child, who is as shrewd -and intelligent as he is brave. So you have a good start, Monsieur -Mario. Humble as I am, I will help you forward with all my strength if -opportunity offers." - -Despite the marquis's very earnest desire to present Mario to the -cardinal, Mario refused to await the uncertain fulfilment of the promise -of an audience. - -Having warmly thanked Abbé Poulain--he told them under his breath, with -a smile, that they might call him so thenceforth,--Mario, happy in the -joy of his father and Adamas because of the famous marquisate, threw -himself on his bed, slept a few hours, embraced his old friends once -more, and started for France at daybreak. - -Mario attempted to travel too fast. Although he had an admirable horse, -he thought that he would do better to travel by post at full speed, and -his own strength failed him. He had received a slight wound in the -affair of the Pas de Suse, and had carefully concealed it; the wound -became inflamed, he was attacked by fever, and when he reached Grenoble -fell helpless on his bed. Clindor, in dismay, discovered that he was -delirious. - -The poor page ran to fetch a doctor. He was not skilful; he irritated -the wound still more by his remedies. Mario was very ill. His impatience -and disappointment at being thus delayed aggravated his condition. -Clindor decided to send a messenger to the marquis; but he lost his head -and sent him to Nice instead of to Suse. - -One evening when he was weeping in desperation on the landing outside -the room in which Mario lay helpless, he thought that he heard him -talking to himself and hastily entered the room. - -Mario was not alone; a slender, pale-faced creature, dressed in red, was -leaning over him as if to question him. - -Clindor was afraid. He thought that the devil had come to torment his -poor young master's last moments, and he was trying to remember some -formulas of exorcism, when by the dim light of the night lamp he -recognized Pilar. - -His fear increased. He had overheard her conversation with Mario at -Chaumont. He knew therefore that she loved him to frenzy. He believed -that she was entirely under the influence of Satan, and fear produced -its accustomed effect upon him, that is to say it made him brave; he -threw himself upon her, sword in hand, and nearly wounded Mario, whom -Pilar exposed as she avoided the blow. - -He was not able to strike a second time; Pilar disarmed him, he knew not -how, jumping upon him so quickly and unexpectedly that he was forced to -fall back. - -"Be quiet, stupid idiot that you are!" she said; "I did not come here to -injure Mario, but to save him: don't you know that I love him, and that -his life is mine? Do what I bid you do, and in two days he will be on -his feet." - -Clindor, not knowing which way to turn, and realizing that the charlatan -whom he had summoned made the patient worse with each new prescription, -yielded to Pilar's ascendancy. Despite the fear she caused him, she -acted upon his will by virtue of a fascination which he did not admit, -but which he could not shake off. At times he trembled to entrust -Mario's life to her, but he obeyed, saying to himself that he was -bewitched by her. - -In Mario's case the fever was simply a result of nervous irritation: a -day of repose would have cured his wound. But the physician had applied -a healing ointment which produced the effect of poison throughout his -whole system. - -Pilar washed and purified the wound. She possessed those _secrets_ of -the Moors to which the Christians of Spain had recourse as a last -resort. She administered powerful antidotes. The purity of the patient's -blood and the wonderful equilibrium of his constitution seconded the -effect of the remedies. He partly recovered consciousness that same -night; and on the following morning he was no longer delirious. In the -evening, although terribly weak, he felt that he was saved. - -In his transports of joy, Clindor unconsciously made a declaration of -love to the clever gypsy. She paid no heed whatever. She concealed -herself behind the head of the bed so that Mario might not see her. She -was well aware that her appearance would agitate him. - -Two days later, Mario felt so fully restored that he ordered Clindor to -look about for a post-chaise which he could purchase, so that they might -continue their journey. Clindor, seeing that it was too soon, pretended -that he could not find one, whereupon Mario bade him bring horses for -them to ride. - -Clindor was driven to despair by his persistence; Pilar interposed. -Mario nearly fell ill again with anger when he saw her and learned that -he owed his life to her. But he soon became calm and said to her in a -mild tone: - -"Whence do you come? where have you been since you made those threats?" - -"Ah! you are afraid for _her_!" rejoined Pilar with a bitter smile. "Set -your mind at rest; I have had no time to go thither. I will not go, if -you will cease to hate me." - -"I will, Pilar, if you abandon all thought of vengeance; but, if you -persist in it, I shall hate you as much as I hate the life I owe to -you." - -"Let us not speak of that for the moment; you can safely remain quiet -and not return to your province, since my presence with you is a -guaranty that everything is well." - -Therein Pilar touched the crucial point of the situation. Mario -restrained his impatience and consented to remain at Grenoble until he -should be fully cured. He had to consent also to allow Pilar to wait -upon him. He could not dream of turning over to the strong arm of the -law the woman who had just saved his life and whom it was his duty to -try to convert from her evil ways by gentleness. He dared not irritate -her by displaying his contempt, and despite the unconquerable repugnance -she inspired in him, he was reduced to the necessity of being perturbed -in mind when she was long absent and of rejoicing when she returned. - -This state of affairs became intolerable after two or three days. Pilar, -incapable of any sort of moral reasoning, was determined to be loved; -she described her passion with a species of wild eloquence, saying and -believing that it was chaste, because it was not governed by the senses, -and sublime, because it had all the fervor of an unbridled imagination -and a wilful temper. She heaped curses upon Lauriane and bitter -reproaches upon Mario, exhibiting her mad passion shamelessly before -poor Clindor, who took fire beside that volcano. - -Mario soon wearied of the absurd rôle he was compelled to play. In vain -did he try to transform that nature, incapable as it was of loving the -right for the right's sake, or even of conceiving that Mario or anyone -else on earth could so love it. - -"If you did not love that Lauriane so madly," she said to him with -appalling frankness, "you would entrust me with your vengeance; for she -always has despised you and always will." - - - - -LXXIII - - -Mario was able to leave his bed at last, and one evening he went out -alone, starving for fresh air and liberty, to test his strength, being -fully determined to continue his journey even though he must procure -Pilar's imprisonment until further notice, or though he must allow her -to accompany him in order to hold her in subjection. - -Meditating upon the most advantageous plan to adopt, he walked slowly -toward the Convent of the Visitation, aimlessly, as if attracted by its -elevated site. Suddenly he found himself face to face with a person who -stopped in front of him. He too stopped. It was as if they were both -irresistibly forced to look at each other. - -To judge from her appearance and her manner, the stranger was a woman of -noble rank, richly dressed, short and slender, pale, but young and -beautiful, so far as he could see through the black mask which women of -refinement wore when walking. - -She wore a widow's cap and was dressed in black throughout. Her flaxen -hair was arranged in two graceful masses over her hair. She was entirely -alone. No companion, no servant before or behind her. - -The graceful and modest charm of her carriage had impressed Mario at a -distance. As she approached, her light hair and black attire had made -his heart beat fast. At a little distance he put away the illusion; face -to face, he was agitated and uncertain. - -The same perplexity seemed to assail the masked lady. At last she passed -on, returning Mario's salute. - -Mario walked a little way, not without turning several times; he walked -a little farther and stopped again. - -"At the risk of being discourteous and receiving a sharp rebuke, I -propose to find out who that woman is!" he said to himself. - -He retraced his steps, walking rapidly, and found himself again face to -face with the masked lady, who also had turned back. They both -hesitated, and were very near passing a second time without speaking. At -last the lady determined to break the ice. - -"I ask your pardon," she said with some emotion, "but unless I am -deceived by a striking resemblance, you are Mario de Bois-Doré?" - -"And you are Lauriane de Beuvre?" cried Mario, intensely excited. - -"How does it happen that you recognized me, Mario?" said Lauriane, -removing her mask. "See how I have changed!" - -"Yes," said Mario, beside himself with joy, "you were not half so lovely -before!" - -"Oh! do not feel compelled to be gallant to that point," said Lauriane. -"My father's death, the sufferings of my party, and the downfall of all -my hopes have aged me more than the years have done. But tell me of -yourself and yours, Mario!" - -"Yes, Lauriane; but take my arm and let us go to your home; for I must -speak to you, and unless you are under proper protection here, I will -not leave you." - -Lauriane was surprised at Mario's excited air; she accepted his arm and -said to him: - -"I could not, if I would, take you to my present home. It is the convent -which you see yonder on the plateau. But you can escort me to the gate -and on the way we will tell each other all about ourselves." - -Being urged to tell her story first, she told Mario that after the fall -of La Rochelle, having failed to obtain permission to share Madame de -Rohan's imprisonment, she had attempted to return to Berry. But she had -learned in time that the Prince de Condé had given orders to arrest her -again in case she should make her appearance there. - -An old aunt, her only remaining relation and faithful friend, was -superior of the Convent of the Visitation at Grenoble: she was a former -Protestant, who had been consigned to that institution when very young, -and had allowed herself to be converted there. But she had retained a -very great sympathy for the Protestants, and she urged Lauriane most -affectionately to come to her for shelter and protection until the end -of the war in the South. Lauriane had found some repose and much -affection there. She had been no more persecuted there than by the nuns -at Bourges. From consideration for her aunt, they had even pretended not -to know that she was a heretic, and she was allowed to go out alone and -masked, to carry alms and consolation to the divers unfortunate -Protestants living in the suburbs. - -"Lauriane," said Mario, "you must not go out any more; you must not show -yourself in public again until I tell you. It is due to the -interposition of Providence that you have not been met and recognized by -an invisible and dangerous foe. Here we are at the gate of the convent; -swear by your father's memory that you will not pass through this gate -again until you have seen me." - -"Shall I see you again then, Mario?" - -"Yes, to-morrow. Can you receive me in the parlor?" - -"Yes, at ten o'clock." - -"Do you swear that you will not go out?" - -"I swear it." - -This time Mario was overjoyed to see the gate of the cloister close -between Lauriane and himself. He considered that she was safe there if -Pilar did not discover her. He carefully explored the immediate -neighborhood of the convent, to satisfy himself that he had not been -followed and watched by her. He knew that she was capable of sacrificing -the whole community in order to reach her rival. - -He returned to his apartments and did not find her there. Clindor had -not seen her since his master went out. - -All Mario's anxiety revived. He was going down to the street when he -heard an uproar which made him quicken his pace. He saw Pilar being -taken to prison by a party of archers. She uttered piercing shrieks, at -once heart-rending and savage; and when she saw Mario, she held out her -hands to him imploringly with a despairing expression which shook his -resolution for a moment. - -"Ah! cruel!" she cried, "it is you who cause me to be cast into a -dungeon as the reward of my love and my care! Infamous wretch! you wish -to be rid of me. Curse you!" - -Mario, without replying, questioned the leader of the squad in whose -custody she was. - -"Can you tell me," he said, "whether you propose simply to imprison her -for the night as a vagrant, or whether you have arrested her on -suspicion of some crime or misdemeanor?" - -He was informed that she was accused of a misdemeanor. The physician who -had treated Mario with such ill success, irritated to find that he had -been cured by an adventuress, accused her of breathing upon her -patients, in terms which were equivalent in those days to a charge of -unlawfully practising medicine, which charge was likely to have far more -serious consequences then than in our day, since the question of -witchcraft could always be raised, a crime which the most learned -magistrates took seriously and punished with death. - -"Whatever may happen to her," said Mario to himself, "it is most -important that this dangerous girl should lose track of Lauriane, whom -perhaps she has already discovered." - -On the following morning he hurried to the convent. - -"Now," he said to his friend, "we may breathe freely, but we cannot go -to sleep over the volcano." - -And he told the whole of his strange adventure with the gypsy. - -Lauriane listened attentively. - -"Now," she said, "I understand everything. Let me tell you, Mario, why I -was so deeply moved when I saw you yesterday, and why I had the -assurance to speak to you without being certain that I recognized you. -Also, why I hesitated the first time, thinking that I was deceived by my -imagination. A week ago, I received an anonymous letter full of insults -and threats, in which I was told that you had been killed in the battle -of the Pas de Suse. I was overwhelmed by that news. I wept for you, -Mario, as one weeps for a brother, and I wrote a letter to your father -and sent it instantly to the mail carrier. Little by little, however, -reflection led me to doubt the truth of the suspicious intelligence I -had received, and when I met you I was on my way to the town, to -ascertain, if possible, the names of the nobles who were killed in that -battle. I had resolved, if yours was among them, to go to your father -and try to sustain him and care for him in that terrible trial. I surely -owed him that, did I not, Mario, for all his kindness to me in years -gone by?" - -Mario gazed at Lauriane; he could not tire of contemplating her altered -features, her eyes inflamed by grief and tears, the traces of which -seemed very fresh. - -"Ah! my Lauriane," he cried, kissing her hands, "so you have retained a -little affection for me?" - -"Affection and esteem," she replied; "I knew that you had refused to -fight against the Protestants." - -"Ah! I will never do that! and yet I never told my principal reason! I -can tell it to you now: I would not run the risk of firing upon your -father and your friends. Lauriane, I always loved you dearly; why were -your letters to my father always so cold with respect to me?" - -"I, too, can speak with perfect frankness now, my dear Mario. My father, -when we went to Bourges the last time, four years ago, had the strange -idea of affiancing us to each other. Your father rejected, as he was -bound to do, the suggestion of so ill-assorted a union; and I, a little -humiliated by my poor father's thoughtlessness, informed you several -times of marriage projects, to which I gave but slight consideration in -the melancholy situation in which I then was. At the same time I was -cold to you in words, my dear Mario, and perhaps somewhat humiliated by -the thought of the presumption which you would naturally attribute to -me. Let us smile to-day at all that past misery, and do me the justice -to believe that I do not entertain the slightest thought of marriage. I -am twenty-three years old; my time has gone by. My party is crushed, and -my fortune will be confiscated whenever it suits the Prince de Condé's -caprice. My poor father is dead, stripped by the hazard of war of the -property he had amassed in his maritime expeditions. So I am neither -rich nor beautiful nor young. I have but one cause of rejoicing: it is -that I can live hereafter not far from you, without being suspected of -aspiring to anything except your friendship." - -Mario listened, trembling and bewildered. - -"Lauriane," he said impetuously, "you show your disdain of my name, my -youth and my heart when you speak of the tranquil bond of friendship -which it would be easy for you to resume. But it is for me to say: It is -too late. I have always loved you reverently, and I do not think that my -love is any less reverent because I have loved you more passionately -since I lost you and since I have found you again. I, too, Lauriane, -have suffered keenly! But I have never despaired altogether. When I had -carefully concealed my grief, in order not to allow myself to languish -and die, God sent me, in His merciful compassion, gusts of hope in Him -and of faith in you. - -"'She knows, she must know that it would kill me,' I would say to -myself; 'she will love me, she will not love another, because of her -kindness of heart if for no other reason! I am only a child, but I can -soon and very quickly make myself worthy of her, by working hard, by -keeping my heart pure, by having courage, by making them happy who will -love me, and by fighting gallantly when there comes a righteous war': -for this one is righteous, is it not, Lauriane, and your heart cannot be -so changed that you love the Spaniards to-day?" - -"No, surely not!" she replied. "And it was because Monsieur de Rohan -insisted upon this mad, disgraceful and desperate alliance that I -awaited the result of events here, and took no deeper interest in them." - -"You see, Lauriane, that nothing separates us now. If I am not the good -and learned man that I would like to be, I believe at all events that I -know as much and can fight as stoutly as most of the young men of -twenty-five to thirty years, with whom I came in contact in the army. As -for my affection, Lauriane, I can answer for its lasting so long as my -life shall last. I am entitled to no credit for it, for I was born -loyal, and from childhood it has been impossible for me to consider any -other woman than you lovely and lovable; I placed my heart in your -keeping the first day that I saw you. I have never become accustomed to -living apart from you, and I have never passed a single day at Briantes -without sitting down to dream of you, instead of playing and amusing -myself, whenever I left my studies for an instant. What I thought, what -I said to you eight years ago, in the famous labyrinth, I still think -and I say to you again to-day. - -"I cannot live happily without you, Lauriane! In order to be happy, I -must see you always. I know that I have no right to say to you: 'Make me -happy!'--You owe me nothing! but perhaps you will be happier with me -than you were with your poor father, or than you are now, alone, -persecuted, and obliged to conceal yourself. I do not need that you -should be rich; but if you are bent upon being rich, I will enforce your -rights as soon as peace is assured; I will defend you against your -enemies. Married to me, you will have absolute freedom of conscience; -and under my protection you can pray as you choose. We will not fight -for our altars, as the King and Queen of England are doing at this -moment. If you must have a title, why I am bemarquised for good and all. -Whether you are still beautiful or not, I do not know, I never shall -know. I see that you have changed. You are paler now and thinner than -when you were sixteen years old; but in my eyes you are much lovelier -so, and if you had never been lovely, it seems to me that I should have -loved you no less dearly. - -"If therefore a woman's happiness consists in being beautiful in the -eyes of the man she loves, love me, Lauriane, and you will have that -happiness. Listen, Lauriane, and let me speak to you as in the old days. -I have been submissive and brave down to this day; do not deprive me of -my strength; if you wish to wait still longer and know me as a friend -and a brother, I will wait until you trust me. If you wish me to go back -to the army--and, in truth, such is my desire--come to the camp as my -father's ward and adopted daughter. I will see you only when you choose, -not at all if you insist, until you accept me for your husband. But do -not leave us again; for, with or without your love, we are and desire -always to be your family, your friends, your defenders, your slaves, -whatever you wish us to be, provided that you permit us to love you and -serve you." - -Lauriane pressed Mario's loyal hands in hers. - -"You are an angel," she said, "and it requires courage on my part to -refuse you. But I love you too well to chain your brilliant destiny to -mine, melancholy, as it is, and alas! complete; I love your father too -well to be willing to cause him this sorrow." - -"My father? you doubt my father?" cried Mario, beside himself. "Ah! -Lauriane, do you not understand that your father deceived you! Say that -you do not love me, that you have never loved me!" - -At that moment there was a violent ringing at the gate of the convent, -and a moment later the Marquis de Bois-Doré rushed into the parlor and -embraced Mario and Lauriane in turn. - -He had not received Clindor's message, but Lauriane's letter; and as the -treaty was signed and he was returning to Berry, he had come to the -convent to take her home with him. He was greatly surprised to find -Mario there, thinking that he had already returned to Briantes. - -The situation was explained to him; then Mario, still intensely -agitated, said to him: - -"You arrive in good time, father. Lauriane here thinks that you do not -love her!" - -A second explanation ensued. The marquis perceived Mario's agitation and -grief, and he smiled. - -Lauriane suddenly understood that smile. - -"Dear marquis," she cried, blushing and trembling from head to foot, -"give me back the letter I wrote you when I thought that your son was -dead! Give it back to me, I insist; do not show it." - -"No, no," replied the marquis, handing the letter to Mario with a sly -expression; "he shall never see it, unless he snatches it from my -hands--which he is quite capable of doing, as you see!" - - - - -LXXIV - - -The letter was short and disconsolate; Mario had soon devoured it with -his eyes, while Lauriane hid her face on the old man's shoulder. - -Lauriane, in the first outburst of bitter grief, had written the marquis -that she had always loved Mario since their separation and should wear -mourning for him all her life. - -"For now," she said, "I feel for the first time that I am really -widowed!" - -"You are not, you never will be, my Lauriane," said the marquis, -removing her little black cap for a moment. "I have never desired any -other daughter than you, and we will go home and prepare for the wedding -at Briantes." - -I leave you to imagine the rejoicing at the old manor at the -simultaneous return of the Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré, Lauriane, -Adamas, Aristandre, and even Clindor, who, the better to destroy the -spell cast upon him by the gypsy, hastened to pay court to all the -village maidens. - -The marriage of Monsieur Sylvain's beloved children could not be -celebrated publicly until Lauriane had made submission to the king and -obtained her pardon, for she had proclaimed herself a rebel in a moment -of desperation; and, despite Monsieur Poulain's influence, the king -remained inflexible so long as the _War in the South_ lasted. - -It was short and bloody. It was the last gasp of the party as a -political faction. - -"Upon the ruins of that demolished party, Richelieu caused the son of -Henri IV. to swear to maintain the religious liberty proclaimed by his -father."[11] - -Thereafter they could safely present to Louis XIII. the Marquis de -Bois-Doré's petition in behalf of his daughter-in-law. To that end -Mario went in person to Nîmes, where the king had made a triumphal -entry with Richelieu. Monsieur de Rohan had gone to Venice. - -Mario obtained a decree restoring his wife's estates in despite of -monsieur le prince, who was sniffing eagerly at them, and likewise -restoring her liberty without condition or reservation. The cardinal -received him and rebuked him mildly for having taken no part in that -war. Mario requested another opportunity to fight in Italy, and the -cardinal, as he dismissed him, said in an undertone, with a most affable -smile: - -"I promise you the opportunity, but say nothing about it unless you wish -me to fail!" - -Mario found the Abbé Poulain at Nîmes, thoroughly exhausted and -delighted to have a few weeks of repose. He had assisted Mario so -cordially, that the young man invited him to come to Briantes, and they -set out together, the priest congratulating himself upon the prospect of -celebrating the marriage of the young people. - -They started on an intensely hot day. It was early in July. The country -which they rode through had been laid waste by the war and not a tree, -not a cottage was standing. - -By the king's command the troops had ravaged the territory around all -the rebellious cities, in order to starve the inhabitants. - -"We are passing through a conflagration," said Monsieur Poulain to -Mario; "the sun treats us as we treated this poor soil, and I verily -believe that our clothes will take fire." - -"Really, monsieur l'abbé," said Clindor, who loved to mingle in the -conversation, "there's a very unpleasant smell of something burning!" - -"I believe that some house is still burning behind yonder hill," said -Mario; "do you not see smoke?" - -"There is very little of it," said the abbé; "some little hovel, I -presume. I confess, monsieur le comte, that I am weary of so much -misery. I used to hate the Huguenots; now that they are down, I am like -you, I pity them. I witnessed the Privas affair. Well, I have had enough -of it, and I defy the greatest gluttons of vengeance to say that they -are not surfeited with it." - -"I should say as much!" said Mario with a sigh; "but listen to those -shrieks, monsieur l'abbé; there is somebody in great distress. Let us -go to see." - -Behind the hill where the smoke was ascending, they heard shrieks, or -rather one long, piercing, heart-rending shriek. The appalling duration -of that distant cry, which seemed to be uttered by a child, made a -profound impression on the abbé. Clindor could not believe that it was -a human voice. - -"No, no," he said, "either that is a shepherd's pipe, or somebody is -killing a kid." - -"It is a human being expiring in torture," said Monsieur Poulain; "I -know that frightful music only too well!" - -"Let us hasten then!" cried Mario; "we may be in time to save an -unfortunate fellow creature. Come, come, monsieur l'abbé! The peace is -signed; no one has the right to torture Huguenots!" - -"It is too late," said the priest, "the sounds have ceased." - -The shrieks had suddenly ceased and the smoke had disappeared. Perhaps -they were mistaken. However, they urged their horses and soon reached -the top of the hill. - -Thereupon they espied, in the valley beyond, and much farther away than -they had supposed, a group of peasants bustling about a half-extinct -fire. Before they came within ear-shot, the men had dispersed. A single -old woman remained near the smoking ashes, which she was turning over -with a fork as if in search of something. Mario arrived first at the -spot, where his nostrils were assailed by an acrid, intolerable odor. - -"What are you looking for there, mother?" he said; "what have you been -burning?" - -"Oh! nothing, my fine gentleman! nothing but a witch who gave us the -fever with her look whenever she passed. Our men made an end of her, and -I am looking to see if she didn't leave her secret in the ashes." - -"What? her secret?" said Mario, disgusted by the sang-froid of that -harridan. - -"You see," replied the old woman, "she had something around her neck -that glistened, and she lost it struggling when they put her in the -fire. Then she shrieked: 'I have lost it, I am lost myself!'--It must -have been an amulet to protect her from a violent death, and I would -like to find it." - - -[Illustration: _MARIO FINDS PILAR'S TALISMAN._ - -"_Look" said Mario, picking up a coin with a hole -in it, which he saw shining at his feet, "is this it?_" - -"_Yes, yes, that's it, my fine gentleman! Give it -to me for the trouble I had keeping the fire burning._"] - - -"Look," said Mario, picking up a coin with a hole in it, which he saw -shining at his feet, "is this it?" - -"Yes, yes, that's it, my fine gentleman! Give it to me for the trouble I -had keeping the fire burning." - -Mario threw the coin far away, impelled by a feeling of unconquerable -horror. He had read upon it a name carved with a knife. It was Pilar's -talisman. Naught else remained of her save that testimony of her fatal -love, a few charred bones, and the disgusting odor of burned flesh with -which the atmosphere was heavy. - -Overwhelmed with horror and pity, Mario rode rapidly away, refusing to -give Clindor, who questioned him closely, the key to the riddle; and, -during a considerable part of the journey, he was unable to shake off -the painful impression produced by that shocking incident. - -But when they drew near the manor, we can readily believe that he had -forgotten everything, and thought only of the joy of seeing once more -his dear betrothed, his beloved father, his loving Mercedes, his -paternal tutor Lucilio, the sage Adamas, and the heroic charioteer,--all -those loving hearts who, while spoiling him to the best of their -ability, had succeeded as by a miracle in making him the best and most -charming of mortals. - -The wedding festival was magnificent. The marquis opened the ball with -Lauriane, who, being happy and at peace once more, seemed not a day -older than the handsome Mario. - - -[Footnote 11: Henri Martin.] - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LES BEAUX MESSIEURS DE -BOIS-DORÉ VOL. 02 (OF 2) *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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